Murder On The Pacific Princess
by angelofjoy
Summary: A string of murders on a cruise ship throws Five-O into a high seas adventure.
1. Prologue

**_A/N: In 2013 my mom and I went on our first Caribbean Cruise and she gave me the idea way back then. Here were are in 2016 and I'm finally finishing this story. I started it on the boat way back then, but I've now edited it to fit with the changes in the show, canonically, and powered through to finish it. I hope you enjoy how it turned out._**

 ** _P.S: If you ever get the chance to experience a cruise, do it! If you've already done it, what was your favourite part? Leave me a comment! Thanks for reading._**

Chapter 1: Prologue

Janice and Hewitt Westbrook had been married for a little over a year, and they'd been planning this trip for even longer. It was the trip of a lifetime, taking them from one port of call to the next in succession. From one ship to the next, and it would last over the course of several months. They'd set sail in the fall from London, crossed the atlantic and headed down toward the Caribbean. From there they would disembark from one ship just to get on the next, and continue on their journey. They saw the island of the Caribbean, the ruins in the Riviera, and the many coasts of America. They crossed over to the pacific through the Panama Canal and then headed all the way up to Alaska. The next, and final, leg of their whirl wind trip would take them from Vancouver, Canada on to Hawaii and down as far as French Polynesia - Tahiti to be exact. And this would all be done abroad The Pacific Princess - one of the world most advanced and largest of the cruise ships. From there they would make their way home to resume their life and families, and the new beginning that awaited them as a new couple - or so they thought.

Hewitt was a transplant, having political parents and moved around a lot as a child. He moved from Spain, as a baby, with his parents and grew an Englishman, like his father. He served in the Royal Navy as soon as he was old enough to enlist and he retired from that profession just before he married Janice. His new career would start when they returned home.

Janice was a travel agent and very good at her job. She managed to book the back to back, months long, journey through her many connections and banked cruise rewards she'd accumulated. Every time she sold a cruise vacation to one couple or group she gained points toward her own. And so it was that the two love birds found themselves on what they were calling their one year - honeymoon.

Taking the time off to travel had been something both of them had talked about before they'd even contemplated marriage, in fact, the desire to travel had been the topic of conversation in the speed dating gathering that had brought them together in the first place and their courtship was short and quick. The newlyweds believed that they would be together forever and had found their true path together. However, somewhere between the coast of California and the Hawaiian islands something went terribly wrong.

One night in the middle of the crossing from the mainland to the islands, the happy couple made their way down into the dining room that they'd been assigned to. They frequented the same one on every night of their voyage, and their seating was at the same designated hour, at the same table and with the same servers, every night. They had come to know the people around them and some of the other serves. But on this night Janice found herself feeling queasy, which was odd because they'd already been at sea for a very good duration of time, and aside for some sea sickness in the first day of their trip, Janice had found her sea legs and had been content and comfortable. She excused herself from the small table she'd shared with her husband, with the same waiters who knew them by their first names now, and disappeared to the dining room washrooms. Her feelings of illness had only just started when they arrived in the dining room, before they'd eaten anything, and even though they had experienced a very exciting day of different activities that took them out of each other's company. These were their first moments together after having spent the day apart, and almost as soon as they sat down, Janice began to feel very strange.

When Janice didn't returned after an unusually long length of time, Hewitt decided it would be best to send someone to check on her. A female server, from a neighbouring table, was commissioned with the task and dispatched to find Janice, but didn't return either. Moving away from the table Hewitt went in search of his wife but as he reached the exit to the dining room he was met by a gathering of guests and the ships crew. Claims that the washroom was closed started to circulate through the crowd as Hewitt moved through it, in a near panic now. Worried now, Hewitt pushed his way through the crowd to see what was going on and in the midst of the commotion he made eye contact with a man who's face was familiar but his dress belonged to the ships. He knew this man from his past but could not put his finger on his identity and his worry carried him on to try and push past this man now.

The next thing he knew was a searing pain in his chest and a shortness of breath as he was pushed backward by the man who was so familiar to him. He looked down to see blood on his white dress shirt and the base of a champaign flute protruding out of his body, and then all went black for Hewitt Westbrook.


	2. All Aboard

Chapter 2: All Aboard

"How do you feel about cruise ships?" Commander Steve McGarrett asked of the ensemble of his team as he walked out of his office and into the common room within their shared office space.

"It's a Billion Dollar industry!" Chin Ho Kelly stated.

"You can see the world all in the lap of luxury," Kono Kalakaua followed her cousins train of though.

"Bah, it's another disaster waiting to happen. You've heard of the Titanic. Yeah, just you wait..." Detective Danny William blurted out, ever the pessimist. "You wouldn't catch me dead on one of those floating monstrosities!"

"Danny, these ships are some of the safest in modern history. They have complex safety plans and procedures, and enough life boats for everyone," Kono jumping in before Steve could blow up.

"Costa Concordia!" Danny faked a cough.

"That was an isolated incident, based on human error. Cruise Ships are entirely safe," Steve stated defensively.

"That's exactly my point, well not the safe part! These ships are disasters waiting to happen. All it takes is one person to mess it all up. We were meant to stay on dry land. Have you ever looked at one of those things? How do they stay afloat and upright? No, they are not natural. They are going to tip over. You can only fight physics for so long and then disaster strikes. Best to say on dry land, where I may get shot but at least I won't drown," Danny ranted.

"Do you feel the same way about airplanes?" Chin asked.

"Yes, but they are the lesser of the evils and they are much faster. It take almost three days to sail from the mainland to Hawaii on one of those ships, but to fly from the east coast to the west coast and then to Hawaii is seven or so hours depending on layovers and time zones. Just fly, you spend less time in that God forsaken contraption, and therefore, you are less likely to die," Danny answered.

"Actually, you are less likely to get into some kind of trouble on a Cruise Ship than you are in an airplane. Statistically speaking, there are more plane crashes than there are ship incidences," Steve commented in a matter of fact kind of way that made Danny want to explode.

"You're just making that up because you are a navy man! You have a biased opinion. Don't listen to a thing Steve says on the subject!" Danny warned his friends.

"He's right," Chin stated and threw an article he'd just searched for across the smart table and onto the monitor nearest to Danny.

"You kids and your internets!" Danny huffed.

"Quick, before he sets off on another tangent, why did you bring up cruise ships, Boss?" Kono asked mockingly.

"Because there is one set to arrive in port the day after tomorrow, on the big island, and three people have been found murdered on that ship," Steve answered.

"I told you!" Danny practically yelled. "Murder at sea, I'm surprised they din't just dump the bodies in the ocean before someone saw them."

"It has nothing to do with the safety of the ship, but what we do know is that there is a killer onboard. Everyone is accounted for, and of the three thousand crew and twenty five hundred passengers, we have to figure out who killed these three people," Steve explained.

"Let the ship come to port, let the people disembark, and wait to see who tries to skip town. There is your killer," Danny said. "So we go over to the big island, wait for my theory to play out and arrest the person before they can catch a flight off the island."

"Sounds, good in theory and we will have people waiting to carry that out, but what if our murderer is smarter than that? No, you and I are going undercover on that ship to investigate while the cruise tours the islands of Hawaii. Kono and Chin, you will be our eyes on the ground."

"Why me?" Danny whined. "Take Kono undercover as your girlfriend and no one will be any wiser. Why do I have to get on the boat?"

"I'm taking you to prove to you that sailing can be relaxing and enjoyable." Steve countered. "And because you are my partner and I want your detective skills to map this ship and it's passengers."

"Playing to my vanity will get you nowhere, McGarrett. Let it be known, for the record, that I do not want to go on this ship!" Danny protested.

"It is known!" he team cried in exasperation.

"Good, I am not amused, but I will go because the sooner we can solve this, the sooner I can be back on dry land," Danny hugged knowing he wasn't going to win this argument and resigning himself to the fact that he was going to hate every moment of it.

"Way to be a trouper, Danny," Steve said with a laugh, knowing he'd won.

"Shut up!" Danny cursed and walked away to make arrangements for his children; another thing he was super mad about because he hardly got enough time with his kids as it was, and then Steve had to move in and hijack his time with them.

Later that day, after a helicopter ride that made Danny even more nervous than he already was, Steve and Danny were dropped off on the cruise ship and taken through their safety protocols and procedures, before being shown to their state room and base of operations. The ship had not yet come to port on the Big Island, but the anticipation of the passengers was building for the visit after having spent days at sea.

"Why are we sharing a room?" Danny asked darkly as he threw his bags down onto one of the two small beds and then moved toward the balcony.

"Because we aren't here to enjoy ourselves, this is strictly work related," Steve explained.

"Right, and what is our cover?" Danny asked as he threw open the curtains and looked out at miles and miles of open ocean.

"We're cousins, as close as brothers, and I'm taking you on your last vacation before you get hitched," Steve answered. "Sounds like you, right?"

"Right, like I'd ever get married again," Danny huffed.

"I know that but no one else on this ship is going to know that. You have to pretend, and this will be your first marriage, so we're here to party!" Steve said excitedly.

"No," Danny said with a shake of his head.

"All right, whatever, be the sour one," Steve countered. "I'm going to enjoy as much of this as I can."

"Sour in more ways than you can possibly know," Danny said darkly.

"You'll gain your sea legs before long, Danno. Just go hang out on the balcony and get some air. It will pass," Steve said sympathetically as he flipped through the menu, brochures and pamphlets in the state room.

"I'd never make a good sailor," Danny sighed and walked out into the open air once more.

"No, you would not." Steve said with a laugh and a shake of his head. "So let's talk about the case," he added as he followed his partner.

"Sounds great, but wait..." Danny stated as he heard a knock at the door.

"Welcome aboard, I'm your cabin stewart, Carl, can I get you anything while you settle in?" the man at the door asked.

"Carl, you know your way around the ship?" Steve asked.

"Yes sir."

"And you know why we're here?" He continued his questioning.

"I do."

"Good, in fifteen minutes we are going to want to see the bodies and the dining hall where this all took place. You will take us and tell us all that you know. I hope you don't mind," Steve ordered.

"Not at all, sir."

"All right, what do you know?" Danny asked coming back into the state room.

"Mrs. Westbrook was killed first and found in the ladies room. It seems she'd been poisoned. The server who was sent to find her, Maria, was sent to find Mrs. Westbrook and was killed when she entered the ladies room. Mr. Westbrook was stabbed with a champaign flute when he came in search of his wife and fell into the crowded commotion. All three bodies are currently in our infirmary." Carl explained.

"Are there any likely suspects?" Steve asked.

"If there were, would we have called you?" Carl asked. "We have jurisdiction on these ships to deal with many things, and security enough to detain violent passengers under international maritimes laws, but we don't know what happened, and if you haven't guessed, I'm not actually a cabin stewart."

"The equivalent of the chief of police aboard this vessel?" Danny asked.

"Correct."

"Convenient," Steve said with a nod.

"So what is your plan?" Carl asked. "And how can I be of service?"

"We have several plans in motion, firstly we will need information into the murdered couple and the crew member - although we believe the crew member is just collateral damage. This has got something to do with that couple and we need to find out what. Secondly, we are going to carry on as if nothing has happened. Your captain will make a statement and passengers and crew will be monitored as we come into port. If we are lucky our murderer will not return to the ship and we will be able to track that individual on the island and apprehend them. We have two members of our team on the ground on the big island to spearhead that plan. Once we come to port the bodies will be removed from the ship and three of our colleagues will join us to carry on with our investigation as we are not optimistic your killer will make it that easy on us. So you will put our forensics specialist and our technician together in a room. Our Medical Examiner will meet the bodies in Kona and they will be transported to a facility on that island for autopsy. Our third team mate, Captain Lou Grover, will come aboard and will be set to work amongst the crew to fill the spot of the dining room server that was killed. I'm sure you two will work well together to fill in our ranks and presence on this ship," Steve explained the whole plan as they had developed it in their office before hand.

"I will set everything in motion," Carl said with a nod of agreement.

"So Carl, if that is your real name, what do we need to know about you?" Danny asked suspiciously. "Because Steve is very quick to trust people, but I'm not that kinda guy."

"My name is Carl Cambridge, I'm an officer with Her Majesties Royal Navy, and I've been aboard these cruise ships for eighty percent of my career at sea. I have never seen anything like this in all my time onboard these luxury liners, and hope that my record of service speaks to my competency," Carl said and handed a portfolio to Danny.

"Impressive." Danny said after a moment of perusal of the portfolio, before handing it to Steve. "Steve's a Navy SEAL. I'm sure you'll have much in common," he added and turned back to the balcony.

"Shall I fetch you something for your sea sickness?" Carl offered noticing the tell-tale signs in Danny.

"That would be much appreciated," Danny answered with a nod and left the state room for the balcony once more.

"He'll be all right," Steve said before Carl moved toward the door. "We'll just settle in and set up, and then we would like to see a manifest for the passengers and crew aboard this ship. We'd also like to see the bodies and the crime scene as soon as possible."

"I'll just get him a little something to make his voyage more comfortable, and I will return with that manifest so that we might begin this investigation," Carl said with half a bow and headed for the door.

"Thank you, Carl, and welcome to Five-O," Steve said with a smile and a wave as the man left the partners alone once more.


	3. The Detective's Strengths

Chapter 3: The Detective's Strengths

Carl returned to the state room, as promised, with a stack of covered trays that looked like they were from the kitchen, as well as a bucket of ice that contained water and bottle of juice.

"This is for you," he announced and handed the top tray to Steve, "and this is yours," he added as he joined Danny on the balcony.

Under the covered tray, Danny found a small plastic cup with a pair of pills in it and what looked like elastic wrist bands with beads embedded in them.

"Bringing me jewellery already, but we've only just met," Danny joked darkly.

"The pills will help with the nausea and the pressure bracelets are in the event that you don't find your sea legs," Carl smiled as he handed Danny a bottle of water and watched as the detective threw caution to the wind and swallowed the pills. "Most of the crew members wear the bracelets constantly so you wont be alone. It's not uncommon for even the best of us, who have spent years at sea, to get a little out of sorts," Carl confessed and rolled up the sleeve of his uniform to show off his own bracelets.

"I wont tell Steve," Danny whispered.

"I wouldn't be surprised if he needs them too. SEALs spend more time on land then they do on boats," Carl hushed his voice mockingly. "They puff themselves up - elite as they are - but deep down they're only human."

Danny chuckled.

"Your partner is a bit intense. It was all that SEAL training wasn't it?" Carl asked.

"He was in intelligence first, so most of the beginning of his career was spent at sea," Danny responded hushing his voice even more. "So he'll likely soldier on through any sickness rather than show weakness because he's annoying that way, and because he likes to be intense, moody and brooding. Smarter than everyone in the room and completely suspicious of everything around him. I'm pretty sure he's a robot, but you can call him human if you like. It would keep you on his good side, but watch out, he might get you with his laser vision."

Carl laughed out loud which caused Steve to join them on the balcony.

"Is he protesting the bracelets?" Steve asked.

"Nope, I'll take all the help I can get, Super SEAL. Are we ready to go?" Danny answered with a question and changed the subject.

"Are you?" Steve asked with a true concern for his friend.

"Aye," Danny stated and mock saluted.

"You're not a pirate, so don't do that ever again," Steve scolded and the three men left the room together, "and I don't know if I could ever see you as a sailor," he added as he looked behind him at the two very different men. "Carl has all the looks of a sailor, you do not."

"Should I take that as a compliment?" Carl asked in a whisper.

"He likes you," Danny mocked with a twisted grin.

"Thank you, but I don't believe I need a SEAL pup following me around," Carl mocked.

"You two are hilarious," Steve stated dryly.

"I like to think so," Danny carried on. "This one gets me," he added and motioned to Carl.

"You're just doing that to get back at me for forcing you into this," Steve accused.

"Yup," Danny said with a nod.

Steve shook his head and marched on, leaving the other two to fall behind.

Down in the dining room, large wooden partition were erected to contain the crime scene, while allowing the rest of the dining hall to stay in operation. Signs were pinned to the partitions that announced the closure of the washrooms in several different languages and gave instructions on the next nearest restroom location, just one deck below them.

Danny and Steve were allowed through the partition and were greeted on the other side by the ship's Commodore.

"Welcome, gentlemen," The Commodore stated in a thick accent, "I'm sorry to have you join us under these circumstances."

"We hope to get this cleared up as soon as possible so as to not disrupt too much of the voyage," Steve said in response to the man's greeting.

"I'd like to get off in Hawaii and stay there," Danny added darkly so that everyone knew he wasn't happy to be on the ship in the first place.

"Unfortunately, there isn't far to run on these ships but many places to hide, and the perpetrator likely already knows you are not guests on the ship," Carl piped in.

"Very true," the Commodore nodded.

"Is there anyone aboard who makes you feel suspicious?" Danny asked as he looked around at chalk markings on the floor and the blood stains on the carpet. "Intuition wise, who gives you bad vibes?"

"Unfortunately, no one. Many of our crew are on ten month contracts and stay with the ship for that time. If we pick up new crew they are introduced and well acquainted with the ships before we even leave port and are shadowed by senior crew for a time before they are left alone to their duties. No one among us has suspected anyone else. The passengers are less well known but that is the reason for one cabin stewart to take care of them and the same servers in their assigned dining room. There are always people who get to know the passengers on a one on one basis and no one has reported anything suspicious. If they had, Carl would know," Commodore Borgo explained.

"Our killer is good, this was premeditated," Danny sighed, "we need Charlie to take a look at this," he added as he motioned to a mark on the sink that caused Steve to step over and observe it himself.

"I agree, and we'll see the bodies now, but there wont be much more we can do until we are able to get information from our investigators," Steve added. "Who are the dead?"

"A Mr. and Mrs. Westbrook, of London, and one of our servers, Maria Trassino. She'd been with the company for five years now. She was in line to be promoted to the new ship of the fleet set to sail next spring. It's a very great shame," the Commodore explained.

"I'm sorry for your loss," Steve said with a somber nod, "and I assure you that our very best people will have the utmost respect for the victims. We'd like to see them now."

"I feel like I need the lay of the land. I want to wander around and get to know the environment," Danny said thoughtfully. "It's about all we can do until we have some answered."

"Do you want to forgo the bodies then?" Steve asked.

"What more can they tell us?" Danny asked with a shrug, "poisoned, bludgeoned, stabbed with a champaign flute, or rather, the stem of one. It sounds pretty straight forward to me and I'm no Medical Examiner, so until Max can give us a report and Charlie can collect evidence and do his own analysis, and Toast can hack the system and see what he can find, I feel like I have to be the detective and learn my beat."

"Hack the system?" the Commodore questioned suspiciously.

"Yes, he'll link up with international databases and run the passenger and crew manifests to cross reference everyone on the ship while using your system and cameras to monitor all on board movements," Steve explained.

"We already do that," Carl commented, "and nothing seems out of the ordinary."

"Toast will be an extra, outside, set of eyes," Steve wanted to put the crew at easy but at the same time, he wasn't going to jump on board and trust them. "He wont hurt your system, I promise, and we need the link-up to carry on with our ground investigation."

"Very well, they join us when we come to port do they not?" The commodore asked.

"Yes, in the early hours of the morning," Steve nodded and followed Danny to the exit of the partitioned off crime scene.

"Then I would say you have time to get to know the ship," the commodore said to Danny. "I don't mean to boast but if you need a guide, no one knows the ship as I do."

"Thank you, but I don't want to be influenced by your knowledge. I need to learn on my own," Danny explained and the commodore nodded his understanding.

"Danny was a cop in New Jersey. It's where he hails from and how he learned his craft," Steve added with pride to the man he's chosen long ago because of his instinct and his credentials.

"I do some of my best work in observing," Danny boasted, "I'll find my way back to you later," He added and moved toward the stairs.

"Do you have your map?" Steve asked in concern.

"No, but I know the room number. I'll find my way," Danny waved him off and disappeared to a lower deck level.

"You do very little separately, that is the sign of a good partnership," Carl commented at the sight of Steve anxiety for his partner.

"I'm just concerned because Danny didn't want to come on this case in the first place and now he's wandering off on his own, but I know better than to question him. You think I can be intense, you don't know that hardened Jersey Detective," Steve warned. "Policing is extremely personal to him and he's taking it personally, as always."

"Well, he can't go far," the Commodore stated sarcastically, "and if he tries to jump overboard we'll know about it."

"He sounds like good people," Carl added.

"Don't underestimate Danny Williams," Steve warned and followed them obediently to the ships infirmary.


	4. The Lay Of The Land

Chapter 4: The Lay Of The Land

Kono and Chin arrived on the Big Island with Lou, Max, Charlie and Toast, and were greeted at their gate by their counterparts with the HPD. They were shuffled through the airport and off to the office that they would be working out of until the ship left port on the Big Island and moved on through the island belt. Eventually they would end up on their own island but if they could keep this case to the ship and the Big Island, that would be ideal for their situation.

Danny's idea of the perpetrator fleeing the ship was a possibility but a greater possibility was that the perp would stay on course until the cruise was over, or if they were on contract, until the contract was finished. Kono and Chin would monitor the port of call on the day in port, meeting the ship in the morning and remaining with it, under cover, until it left once more. There was much to do before it arrived as Toast was working to wire their people and the first port before he was planted on the ship to follow the investigation from there.

"My first undercover," he commented nervously as he tested micro cameras and sensors. "Well aside for that one time in the sweat shop..."

"You'll have Charlie to help you, and Steve and Danny are already working things out. You'll be all right," Kono said optimistically, "and really, it's not much of an undercover. The passengers will likely be no wiser, but the crew will know you're not who you say you are and by extension, so will the killer, if our assumptions are correct."

"Not making it better Kono!" Toast cried out nervously.

"You're going on to assist Steve and Danny. The only true undercover will be Lou," Chin jumped in. "I'm more concerned about Lou being a believable addition to the crew, and server in the dining room."

"Are you saying I don't know how to be a server?" Lou took offence to the comment. "That's how I put myself through college, and hell, I was damn good at it!"

"I'm saying these crews go through rigorous training because these ships are world renowned for their service. You had better be a quick study while still working undercover for us," Chin added.

"I've got this. You worry about the perp if he run," Lou huffed.

"I don't have to worry, I have Kono," Chin retorted proudly.

Danny walked around the ship until darkness fell. He moved everywhere he could get access to as a civilian. He learned the decks and the dining halls, he found bars and ballrooms, and saw many people at work in the open and in the shadows, to keep everything moving smoothly. He moved through the luxury shops and the library. He found the gym and was surprised to not see Steve already there and working out. Walking from the bow to the stern and seeing nothing but water around him, Danny was reminded of how he first felt when he moved to Hawaii. He felt isolated, believed he'd be without challenge to fulfil his work ethic. He felt so far out of his comfort zone that the abyss actually called to him, but he had reasons to live and now he remembered those reasons.

Overall Danny wanted to know his surroundings and he wanted to know them on his own terms. He hated to be told how things were and wanted to make up his own mind. The same had been said for the islands when he moved in, and yes, he hated them because he hated the reasons for uprooting his life, but he needed to figure things out for himself and as much as he protested and hadn't wanted to take on this case he knew it was his job as Steve's partner to be there. And, just like the island had proved to be not so bad, so too was this floating monstrosity.

Danny picked up a beer on one of the upper decks before walking the length of the ship once more. He returned to the cabin after having discarded the beer bottle and found Steve on the balcony with the passenger manifests and a whole bucket filled with more beer.

"That's not very professional," Danny scolded and took the other deck chair and fell into it.

"I'm just getting into character," Steve said with a shrug. "Have you gotten your bearings yet?"

Danny nodded as he looked out to sea, "I know my way around if that is what you are asking," he answered and accepted the bottle that Steve offered to him.

"Find anything interesting?" Steve asked.

"Not really, did you?" Danny answered with another question.

"Oh come on, Daniel, you went exploring, tell me what you liked about the ship," Steve pressed his friend for details.

"They have a mini-putt," Danny said with a shrug, "and a gym, and a casino. I counted like six pools, a dozen bars or clubs and a family style restaurant that we will be visiting before this case is over, because it smelled amazing when I walked by."

"I'm game for about anything at this point, to get into character of course," Steve said.

"Oh yes, of course," Danny laughed and then grew serious again. "The passengers go on in the oblivion of their vacation, buying the excuse the crew has given to them. There are a lot of children, a lot of beautiful young people, and somewhere amongst them is a killer but no one stuck out."

"Going through the manifests, nothing jumped out at me either but I'm sure Toast will see them all very differently. They don't need to keep in depth records on these ships - where a person is from, how long they've been sailing, or if they have done this before. That doesn't help us, nor does it give us any motive," Steve explained.

"There is nothing about them in there. We just need to be patient and get our people on it. I'm sure Toast, Charlie, Max and Lou will put us on the right path," Danny said. "I have a feeling this was a very personal case. It's just a hunch, of course, and I don't have the evidence to back it up, but that's what our friends are coming onboard to find for us," he explained. "Until then, what more is there to do but to get into character?"

"Heaven forbid we might enjoy ourselves," Steve laughed. "And your hunches are usually right, so we have to explore them. We'll have Toast go in depth with the Westbrooks as soon as we see him."

"Nothing better to do at this point," Danny sighed again.

"You hungry?" Steve asked as he stretched.

"I could eat, or I could handle a little time in the bar or casino, or even the club," Danny answered.

"You wanna pick up now?" Steve asked teasingly.

"No, but this is my last hoorah, remembers. Shouldn't we tie one on to stay in character?" Danny asked. "Who knows maybe we'll find you a single hottie."

"It will get us out of his room and I haven't had a chance to explore yet. Let's do it. Let's tie one on tonight," Steve said and accepted the challenge.

"All right, but you had better change into something more vacation-y. You look too serious in that," Danny mocked his partner's usual khakis and t-shirt combo.

"Oh, I'll look the part. Don't you worry about a thing," Steve said and rushed back into the room.

"Come on Jersey, you'd better keep up," Danny said to himself and followed his partner back into the state room to change and get into character.


	5. Too Long At Sea

Chapter 5: Too Long At Sea

Danny and Steve, after putting on their costumes for the evening, headed out into the crowds. They dined as Danny had wanted in the restaurant rather than the dining hall and then moved on to find the action. To establish their characters on the cruise they went out of their way to talk to people, got right up in groups and initiated most, if not all, of the conversations that evening.

Danny played the part well. He acted like he was on his best behaviour, he had a fiancé at home after all, but with a few more drinks and Steve to egg him on, he loosened up. He danced with single ladies on vacation themselves, met people from all over the world and struck up drunken conversations long into the night to try and get the scoop on what had gone down and what people really knew. He was loud. He stumbled a bit, but for the most part he played a happy, outgoing drunk.

Steve on the other hand stayed relatively sober, nursing the same drinks, adding ice to the cocktails as he went and diluting them to stay as coherent as possible. He encouraged Danny in his outgoing way and did mingle to gather intel but for the most part Danny was on his game and Steve played the wingman. That was the whole point, after all.

Over the course of the evening they visited three of the ships clubs and the casino, and ended the night with a group of other passengers in a jazz lounge. Danny had switched to water by this point in the evening and the smooth mellow jazz piano was a nice break from the loudness of the night clubs and the shrill clanging of the slot machines.

"So boys, is it everything you imagined?" one older gentleman had asked after ascertaining that this was their first luxury cruise.

"I'm ready for some time on dry land. It's been a long four days at sea," Danny confessed even though he'd only been on the boat for less than a day.

"That's usually the consensus," The man's wife laughed as she swirled her drink. "We've done this many times and Rodger is always ready for shore after a few days at sea."

"It's the excitement of new places. I've been on boats enough but I've never been to Hawaii so let's get to it," Rodger confessed and his companions laughed at his honesty.

"If he were really anxious he would have just hopped a flight to the islands," Another man accused.

"Nah, this way we see more than just one island and one resort. We like the ships because you can settle into your cabin and wake up to different places and adventures every day. Isn't that right, Joyce?" Rodger asked his wife.

"We aren't one place resort people," Joyce agreed. "Mark and Lisa, however, have never experienced the ships like we have," She added and motioned to their two companions.

"We're one stop resort people." Lisa admitted with a laugh. "But Joyce and Rodger talked us into it."

"And how do you like it so far?" Steve asked.

"It's been a long time at sea but the boat is like a resort, so I like it," Mark admitted. "Though I would like it more with free wifi."

"Mark!" Lisa scolded. "The whole point was to get you away from your technology."

"If Steve had his way, he's throw my phone overboard. It's my electronic leash and I was supposed to leave life, kids and the family on the mainland."

"You have kids?" Joyce asked excitedly.

"Two from a previous relationship. I love em'. I hope to have more of them. Kids are great," Danny admitted enthusiastically.

"Grand kids are also great but you're too young for that yet," Rodger added.

"I like to think so but time flies. My oldest is fourteen. She thinks she's an adult already," Danny confessed.

"They all do at that age," Lisa laughed and flagged over the server to order another drink. "Our youngest is nineteen and you'd think he was Steve Jobs the way he buries himself in his technology. It's his fault," she added a motioned to her husband. "Mark is also addicted."

"That kid is going placed, Lisa!" Mark said enthusiastically. "He'll pay for us to retire one day."

"Oh I don't disagree but you don't need to pretend that you're going along with him."

"You calling me old?" He asked.

"Old enough to know better," she answered and the group laughed heartily at the exchange.

"This is what you have to look forward to Danny. You sure you wanna get married?" Mark huffed.

"I'm beginning to have my doubts," Danny joked in response. "But seriously yes. I'm very excited about the future."

"So have either of you been to Hawaii before?" Joyce asked as the piano player ended his set and the bartender announced last call. The room fell eerily silent as other guests began to move on.

"I grew up in Hawaii," Steve admitted. "And Danny visited often." He lied to build the character.

"My mom is his Dad's sister," Danny continued. "He's a navy brat so when his dad was stationed in Pearl the family was torn apart. Lucky my Mom and Dad made big bucks in a family enterprise and we were able to travel often to see them in Hawaii."

"We rarely left when I was young, until my mom died and things brought Dad back to the mainland. This is our first trip back since college," Steve said

"Yeah, oh man college was crazy and then send us alone to Hawaii. Bad Idea!" Danny laughed as he shook his head. "They should have known better than to trust us."

"I get the feeling you two were a lot of trouble in your youth." Rodger accused.

Danny and Steve exchanged a look and then burst out laughing.

"You have no idea!" They stated together.

"Speaking of trouble, were you two around the other night?" Mark asked seriously.

"Steve was on a winning streak in the casino. We had pizza on the main deck and that was our night but we heard about some commotion from some younger guests in the gym this morning." Danny lied.

"They are saying that someone was choking but would they close the restrooms for that?" Lisa asked with concern on her tone.

"There were more people involved than that," Rodger countered with a shake of his head. "It looked like murder to me."

"Oh don't be foolish Rodger," Joyce scolded. "That doesn't happen on these ships."

"What if it does?" Rodger asked. "And they know that you'd never get on a ship again so they cover it up like a conspiracy."

"You watch too much TV." Joyce rolled her eyes.

"What do you think happened Joyce?" Danny asked seriously.

"If it was a choking incident then I believe them, and maybe they messed the carpet or something when trying to revive the victims. No one died! If they did would things be this quiet?" She asked in response.

"Mass hysteria is a bad thing," Danny said with a shrug. "And a disruption to the voyage would cost the company big money."

"So you think it was murder?" Lisa asked fearfully.

"I don't know what is was but I also don't think they'd tell us the truth," Danny admitted.

"Just carry on in ignorance and enjoy the voyage. We'll make port tomorrow," Rodger said calmly. "That will set us up just right. We've been too long at sea and you're minds are playing tricks on you."

"Maybe it's all the booze," Joyce said optimistically. "We should turn in."

"I agree. It was nice meeting you boys, be careful and behave. Maybe we'll see each other again." Mark said as he stood and reached to shake Steve's hand. "We like this club at the end of the day. You'll likely find us here."

"I hope so. Good night!" Danny added as he stood as well.

"On to adventures in Hawaii," The new friends toasted the ends of their drinks and split up for the rest of the night.


	6. Ever The Pessimist

Chapter 6: Ever The Pessimist.

"Always the voice of reason even when drunk," Steve chuckled as they returned to the state room.

"Drunk, ha, not while you're diluting the drinks," Danny accused as he flopped onto one of the beds. "But we did gain some perspective, and I'll admit that the ship is pretty fun. So much to do. I feel like I was out all night in Jersey City!"

"Getting to old for that?" Steve asked mockingly.

"I'm on the job, you ain't seen nothing!"

"Sure. Nothing concrete and we know that people are suspicious but at the same time they seemed very trusting." Steve maneuvered the conversation back around to business. "It feels safe. I think we're handling this in the best possible way. You were right to say that mass hysteria would be an issue, but I have to wonder if that's going to make things all the worse if anything else happens."

"No, this is the best. You have to keep people calm when there is no where to run. In the grand scheme of things this boat isn't that big. How many people would it take to cripple it, cause mass panic and hold it ransom?" Danny asked. "I don't want to find out."

"Always the pessimist, Daniel." Steve laughed. "But it does give me an idea."

"We are not taking the ship like a group of pirates," Danny scolded.

"Not yet, but if we can't catch the killer before this voyage is finished in the islands, what is our plan B?" Steve asked. "We don't have jurisdiction in French Polynesia."

"We call our counterparts in California before the ship makes it's return and they can meet the ship and screen each and every person as they come off of it. We're not causing a riot because we didn't get the job done. That is not the last resort," Danny warned. "Imagine the paperwork and the anger you'll face if you literally commandeer this ship or cause a scene in front of thousands of guests! Governor Dennings will slaughter you."

"But the Californians can take it and do as they please?" Steve asked, crestfallen that his partner had already vetoed the idea.

"The ship will be safely docked and they can handle it from there. We however will try our best to keep to plan A and I should have never opened my mouth to you in the first place. Please go to bed. We have a big day tomorrow." Danny whined. "And if we need to stay with the ship as it returns to California, we will, but we will not take control of it. Is that clear to you?"

"You sleep. I'm going to wander," Steve said to get away from his ranting partner, and from agreeing to behave himself.

"Of course you are going to leave in the middle of a conversation. Don't do anything crazy or SEAL insane," Danny called after him to hammer home his point.

"I won't," Steve responded as he left.

"I don't believe you," Danny said and listened as the door shut behind Steve.

Steve had wandered about, as he'd planned, learning the ship like Danny had. This vessel was so outside of his comfort zone, and yet the gentle sounds of the sea brought him back to his navy days. The waters were surprisingly calm and smooth as the sky was filled with stars that twinkled in the heavens. The sounds on the open decks were loud, like static noise, and they were constant. Steve found it soothing and soon, after walking the length of the ship on several different levels, he found himself a deck chair and dozed off with his back to an inner wall and facing out to the open ocean before him. Above his head the life boats were tucked neatly into the rafters and would likely remain there, without incident, for the whole journey, or so he hoped.

It was still dark when the ship came to port. Most of the passengers were none the wiser as their destination came into sight. The ship slowed down and the pilot boat delivered a man to the ship to pilot it into the slip at the dock. The man in question had already been cleared by Kono and Chin and as the ship slipped into its place as skillfully as one backing up a compact car, Chin and Kono were among the dock workers watching the routine of the ground crew as it played out like a dance before their eyes.

The ship was secured to the dock. The engines died down and the walkways and lifts were moved into place. Moments later things like garbage and cargo started coming off of the ship; stuff that would go right into the crime lab for days of analysis. The body's were also quickly removed, into awaiting ambulances, and taken off to the medical examiner.

Steve watched from an upper deck as he spotted his colleagues and scanned for other spectators. The ship was quiet for the most part, with only crew members mulling about but the dock was buzzing with activities as Charlie, Toast and Lou were smuggled onboard. Steve headed back to the state room after receiving a signal from Chin that the others were finally onboard the ship.

When he arrived he found Danny sound asleep but the opening of the sliding doors to the balcony woke him up.

"Are you just getting in?" Danny asked his voice muffled by the pillow he covered his head with.

"Go back to sleep we have a few more hours before things will get moving. We've arrived and our people are on it."

"On the ship?" Danny asked as he sat up.

"Yes, but I doubt we'll see them before the call to disembark goes out."

Danny flopped back in bed. "Toast will go right to work on the system. Charlie will be put to work collecting evidence and Lou wont be seen until dinner time."

"So go back to bed," Steve ordered.

"Have you slept?" Danny asked.

"I dozed in a deck chair." Steve answered as he paced.

"All right, so stop pacing and do something else or I'm not going to sleep anymore," Danny warned.

"Do you want to go ashore when we can?" Steve asked after a long moment of contemplation in Danny's silence.

"Gah, no," Danny grumbled in response. "If the ship is empty, or relatively so, we can sneak around better and watch for suspicious behaviour amongst the crew that stay on board."

"True."

"So get some rest, or please let me sleep." Danny grumbled.

"I'll go see where Toast is being housed," Steve announced.

"Great. Good. Go." Danny ordered as he rolled over and turned his back on Steve.


	7. A Working Theory

Chapter 7: A Working Theory

Steve left the state room once more and went in search of Carl. It didn't take him long to find the undercover security officer and right away Steve was led back down the same hallway his state room was on.

"We managed to free up the room next to yours by upgrading the couple in it for their one hundredth consecutive day at sea. They are in a luxury suite now and your people are right next to you," Carl explained. "I'll open the partition between the two balconies so that you can move between the two rooms without being seen," He added, knocked on the door, and it was answered by Charlie Fong.

Steve and Carl followed Charlie into the suite, which was larger than the state room that Steve and Danny were sharing, and sitting in the middle of the huge king size bed, cross legged with his headphones on and a lollipop handing out of his mouth, with cables going every which way out of the laptop in his lap, was Toast.

"Catch anything good?" Steve asked when Toast looked up and removed his headphones.

"I just got here!" Toast answered with a roll of his eyes. "But yeah." He added with a nod. "Almost as soon as I released my bugs people have been popping up. Facial recognition off the cameras is the best thing. Manifests can be tampered with, passports forged, but faces don't lie."

"So who am I going after?" Steve asked impatiently.

"That is the question. I don't know who they are just yet but I do know that there are two passengers who faces do not match the identity they've stollen," Toast explained. "Just give me some time."

"So just passengers," Steve asked impatiently.

"I'm working on the crew. God, I just got here did you not hear that part or is your hearing that selective? How does Danny deal with you? It's the middle of the night," Toast complained.

"Hackers don't sleep." Steve accused.

"We do, during the day mostly, but consulting analytical technologists who work for elite task-forces don't, apparently," Toast counter.

"Who are the passenger?" Steve asked in defeat.

"These are their faces, I'm sending them to you phone now. They are going by Cecile and Cyrus McLeod," Toast explained. "But Cecile and Cyrus are in their late 80s, living in Omaha and are checked into their morning Aqua Aerobics class."

"Young couple newly wed. We celebrated their wedding at dinner last night," Carl explained in shock. "They are definitely not in their 80s."

"So you'd know them to see them?" Steve asked.

Carl nodded. "And Charlie will be put to work as soon as the passengers can go ashore. We'll get you into their rooms as well."

"Danny also has a theory about these murders, and he thinks they happened for very personal reasons, and that is why three people are dead," Steve explained as he began to pace.

"I'll look into the Westbrooks as soon as all my gear is set up," Toast said more obligingly then before. "When is Danny ever wrong when it comes to things like this?" He asked knowing full well that the road to their destination would be navigated by Daniel Williams.

"Exactly my point," Steve said with a nod.

"It just seems like too many people to be involved if it was revenge or something as personal as that," Charlie commented with doubt in his tone, not for Danny but for the situation in general.

"That's why you're here, Charlie. We won't know for sure until the evidence tells us what's right and what's wrong," Steve said and stopped his pacing and fell silent, in thought, for a good long moment. "Get some rest. We have a lot of work to do," he said and finally followed Carl out onto the balcony where he was opening the partition.

The partition was opened to join the two balconies, and then Carl exited back through the suite that Charlie and Toast were sharing.

Steve settled into one of the deck chairs and watched the waking island as he drifted off to sleep as well.

Max got to work as quickly as he could in the unfamiliar office he'd been given to work out of. His first task was cleaning, photographing and cataloguing all things on the bodies. An intern with the medical examiners office on the big island assisted as Max worked quickly and efficiently. He took hair, blood, and tissue, and ordered a whole spectrum of tests on the samples. He scraped under the fingernails of the victims and swabbed their skin all while vocalizing his findings.

Once all the test were finished. Max started his physical external examination of each victim. He spoke out loud into the digital recorder that hung from the ceiling while the intern took thorough notes, occasionally asking questions.

"Victim number one: Female. Approximately 25 years of age, showing lacerations around the mouth and eyes. Cause of death: to be determined. Primary conclusions point to poisoning. Waiting on toxicological analysis," Max spoke mechanically.

"The poison was likely colourless and odourless. Injected or ingested?" The intern asked.

"Not necessarily, Lucas," Max answered. "We will thoroughly examine the body for punctures or abrasions that might tell us whether or not this woman was poisoned with a substance through the skin or injected," He explained and carried on. "Testing of stomach content may give us answers as to the ingestion of the substance, if that is how it happened."

Max moved to the next victim. "Victim number two: Male. Approximately 28 years of age. Cause of death: Laceration to the crest. It penetrated the lung and punctured the heart. It was a precision blow. The killer had knowledge of the anatomy of the body and was able to choose his weapons and area of attack so precisely that his weapon passed between the ribs to cause the injuries."

"Who would have thought a champaign flute could do such damage?" Lucas asked.

"It was a precision strike and very much premeditated. I believe he was the initial target. The other victims were merely collateral damage, or to cause a distraction," Max answered as he moved on to the man's hands once more. "He got ahold of his attacker. There were fibres in his hands. The lab will have to tell us what they are."

"I've noted that you believe him to be the primary target," Lucas interrupted.

"Very good. We'll need to point that out to the Five-O team."

Moving on to the last victim, Max stopped and sighed. "She'd been a pretty girl." He commented and then returned to his professional manner. "Victim number three: Female. Approximately 21 years of age. Cause of death: sever blunt force trauma to the head."

"She wasn't supposed to find victim number one and the killer. And then the killer had to improvise," Lucas reasoned as he and Max made eye contact. "She will be the key, I believe, to cracking this case wide open."

"I believe so, you are likely correct, Lucas. Well done," Max said with a nod and continued. "She likely recognized the man from among her group of friends and or work companions, and had to be dealt with in order to keep his anonymity. This was a passionate crime. She scratched and clawed at the killer. She likely left marks and we will likely get DNA off of her. He had not planned on this happening and so he was not able to clean up the physical evidence that was left behind."

"Perhaps it's more than one person," Lucas offered.

"Do explain," Max said proudly and folded his hands.

"Well if the person who attacked this woman was also the killer of the male victim, wouldn't people have seen the blood or scratches as a result of the attack. How would he have time to clean up and then kill the man while among those in the crowd of people?" Lucas asked. "He would have been seen and easily identifiable."

Max smiled. "Keep going. Paint me a picture."

"Victim number one goes into the ladies room and succumbs to the poison that had been administered to her. We don't know how it was administered, just yet, but we will soon enough. Killer number one goes in after her to make sure that the job is finished but victim number three comes in looking for victim one, as she was sent by her colleagues to check on the ill passenger, and she finds the killer with the body. Together they struggle with one another and victim three is killed so that she doesn't raise the alarm too soon. The noise from the altercation causes a crowd to form and killer one is forced to flee leaving victim one and three while killer two takes the opportunity of the crowd to ambush his true target in close proximity," Lucas explained.

"I think you've got it, Lucas," Max said proudly. "Now we just need our evidence to prove it."


	8. Breakfast

Chapter 8: Breakfast

Danny awoke again with a start. It took him a long moment to shake off the nightmarish dream he'd been experiencing and came around to understanding where he was. The gentle humming of the ship had stopped. It was clear, as he threw off his blanket, that the boat was no longer moving and as he rose from the bed he moved to the thick curtains that covered the sliding doors to the balcony. He threw open the drapes and found Steve asleep in the deck chair. Thinking the better of waking his partner, Danny decided a shower and a shave would set him right and when he'd finished he felt almost like himself or perhaps the person he was supposed to play. Checking the alarm clock on the bed side table he decided it was time for coffee and food, and time for Steve to explain himself.

Danny moved toward the sliding doors and opened them and to his surprise Steve turned and looked at him.

"All ashore who go ashore?" Danny asked mockingly

"Don't ever say that again." Steve grumbled.

"Touchy much?" Danny laughed.

Steve shook his head and sighed. "The crew started to let the passengers off, if that is what you're asking me," He huffed, stretched and yawned.

"And Toast is next door?" Danny ignored Steve's sass and continued.

"Yes," Steve responded as he stood. "I'll shower and you check on them. Then we'll go a wondering."

"I was thinking we should order room service. I'm dying for a coffee and something to eat, and maybe they will send Lou up here with our stuff," Danny's suggestion was met with lukewarm approval, as Steve grabbed the menu brochure off the desk and scanned it quickly. He then passed it to Danny.

"I'll have coffee and the egg sandwich with a side of bacon and fruit salad," Steve said as he turned and disappeared into the tiny on suite bathroom.

Danny placed an order over the phone and then stepped out onto the balcony leaving the doors open. He ordered more than was needed for just him and Steve, and was sure that his colleagues in the joining room would appreciate the gesture. He moved through the barrier and knocked on the neighbouring door, and then turned to survey the docks down below. Charlie stepped out of the sliding door quietly and joined Danny on the balcony.

"You're a sight for sore eyes," Danny greeted his friends joyfully and was hushed by the investigator, but Charlie smiled all the same.

"Toast is still asleep. He was awake most of the night," Charlie offered by way of an apology.

"So were you," Danny countered. "How are you feeling?"

"I'll be all right. I hope to sleep this morning but I do want to debrief you before I turn in," Charlie explained and sat down at the balcony table that was just big enough for the two of them.

"I've had a look through the crime scene and I've determined that the crew member was likely bludgeoned to death using the sink and vanity in the ladies room. Her body will show signs of struggle. She put up a good fight. Her DNA is all over that place. I've got my samples. The second female victim, or perhaps the first, was poisoned. Until I know how or with what I can't say much about it. It's for Max to find out. As for the male victims, the remains of the flute were printed and I lifted a partial palm print off of it. Toast started to run it as soon as I sent it to him. I also lifted hair and fibres from the washroom but I'm not very confident that it will yield any fruitful results. I have photographs and samples sent in, and I'm going to go through the couples belongings as well as the crew members later today. The dining room and ladies room will be reopened today. There isn't much else to gain from the crime scene. We have to wait for Max." Charlie explained and it was nothing new to Danny. "I will tell you, however that the crew members fought hard. There were scratches in the drywall and scuff marks on the floor. I'm almost positive that her attacker will bare marks from the encounter as well."

"So we look for someone among the five thousand people on this ship who has bruises?" Danny asked sarcastically.

"Bruises, cuts and scrapes. I wouldn't be surprised if our victim went for the face and arms and I'm sure she got him," Charlie responded optimistically.

"Well it's something." Danny said as Steve joined them on the balcony with Lou Grover and the breakfast things. "Looking good Lou," Danny added with a laugh at the sight of the tall man in full ship uniform and carrying the trays of food.

"You watch yourself," Lou warned as he dropped the trays onto the table.

"Lou has been assigned to shadow, Anna-Lisa Bellmont, our victim's partner in the dining hall and all over the ship. He's in the think of things," Steve jumped in before things could get anymore heated.

"Look for a crew member with scratches and bruises on his face and arms. He's likely the killer," Charlie piped in. "Or at least one of them."

"I'll keep an eye open. Anything else?" Lou asked grumpily.

"If we get anything we'll send you word," Steve answered.

Lou nodded his understanding and quickly left as Carl came out onto the balcony, via Danny and Steve's room.

"Cecile and Cyrus McLeod, or people posing as that pair have disembarked and your ground crew are on them. I can take you to their room," Carl announced as the lead investigator stared at him. "You might want to move quickly before they come back," He added.

"If they come back," Danny grumbled. "Our people should ask them about their stollen identities."

"Kono and Chin are already on them," Steve said and pocketed his phone once more.

"If they confess the case is over, and you can all get off my ship," Carl commented happily.

"Not necessarily," Steve said as his phone pinged. "Max says he suspects multiple assailants based on his autopsy results. No toxicology just yet," Steve continued as he read the message he'd gotten.

"All right then, let's get to it," Charlie said with a sigh.

"First breakfast," Danny said as he uncovered the tray that Lou had brought in.

"I'll come back for you in half an hour." Carl said.

"Thank you Carl," Danny smiled and poured himself a cup of steaming hot coffee from the decanter. "Just what I need," He added as he breathed in deeply.

"Hand it over," Steve said as he too reached for the decanter and Carl left.

"I should order something," Charlie sighed and turned toward the room.

"Or we could share, there is a lot of food here and all over the ship," Steve offered.

"But he wants to get some sleep." Danny countered.

"You can do that too. Danny and I could go rummaging," Steve offered.

"You know better than that." Charlie scolded. "No, I'm coming too, or I'll go with Carl and you two can sneak off the ship as if you were sight seeing and head on over to chat with our friendly neighbourhood Medical Examiner. It would be better for you to talk to Max face to face, rather than relying on his texting skills."

"Charlie is right," Danny jumped at the opportunity to get off the boat.

"What about sleep, Charlie?" Steve asked with concern.

"I can sleep when I'm dead. Go see Max!" Charlie answered and snatched up a cup of coffee.


	9. How It's Done

**_A/N: First update since January...I'm so sorry it has taken this long! But, good news, I finished writing this story today. It will now become part of my regular update rotation on Fridays, but to get back in the swing of things, I've edited chapters 1 to 8, reworked them a little bit, and now we're into new material! Again, so sorry for the long wait but I hope you enjoy this update._**

Chapter 9: How It's Done

The image of the suspects were sent to Kono and Chin, on the ground, and as soon as they spotted them, in the crowds of people, they began tailing them. The young couple moved around as if they had never seen the island before but it was clear to the seasoned cops, Kono and Chin, that they were being evasive, but not evasive enough to escape them.

The couple hailed a cab, after visiting a pop up market for the tourists, at the end of the pier, and HPD officers assisting with the case on the Big Island were sent in pursuit while Kono and Chin back-tracked to get to their rental vehicle.

It wasn't long before Kono and Chin caught up to their counterparts, but the suspects had disappeared into a very large, very busy, shopping centre.

"Now what?" Kono asked angrily. "We can't pull Toast for surveillance."

"No, but we can check their security cameras on our own," Chin answered and rushed off toward a security officers to gain his cooperation.

One flash of his badge and Chin got the access he'd wanted, and was brought right to the monitor station for the whole center. Meanwhile Kono listened over their radio connection, and ordered the other officers around as they worked the ground level, covering exits and stationing people at stairwells, elevators, and escalations.

"Come on, Cuz, give me something to go on," she said impatiently. "As she scanned the faces around her.

"Hold on, I think the female just went into a Victoria Secret, on the main level," Chin announced.

"And the man?" Kono asked as she jumped into a run.

"He's crossing the food court at a good pace. There is another exit that way. Somebody stop him," Chin ordered and watched as two officers stopped the man and cuffed him just as he reached the doors to the outside. The man resisted slightly but knew he was caught and gave in as more officers began to surround him.

"Kono do you have her?" Chin asked as he lost sight of his cousin, as she entered the store. "Kono, I can't see you anymore."

"I got her," Kono replied as she exited the store with the woman in question and looked up at the security camera as if she could see her cousin. "All is well and under control."

"Good job, Cuz. We gotta get back to the docks," Chin said with a sigh of relief.

"Nah, we'll get there when we get there. First, we've got an interrogation to do," Kono said and Chin rushed out to meet her, back at the car.

Police officers on the Big Island escorted them to a large building that served as both crime lab and police station, and Kono and Chin got down to work in their make shift location before the two suspects could compose themselves.

Meanwhile, Steve and Danny walked into the unfamiliar facility that was both station and lab and were shown to where Max had been granted privileges. They arrived to find Max up to his elbows in one of the bodies and the assistant writing frantically on one of the charts in his hands.

"Ah, Commander, Detective, I didn't expect you. This is Lucas," Max said and motioned with his chin to the young man before him. "Lucas, this is Commander McGarrett and Detective Williams of the Five-O task-force," he added cheerfully, to make the introductions.

"Wow," was all that Lucas could muster. "Five-O, wow!"

"Hi Lucas," Steve and Danny said awkwardly and in unison, which garnered a sideways glance from Max.

"We didn't expect to come down here either, Max, but we figured a face to face might be better for the investigation then trying to keep communicating over text messages," Steve began on his official train of thought to ease the awkwardness that continued to grow as Lucas just stared, star struck, at Danny.

"I always enjoy your company," Max said and smiled. "I believe you know as much as would be beneficial to your investigation but if you have questions, please, direct them at Lucas. We will use this as a teachable moment," he explained and continued as the young assistant began fidgeting nervously.

"All right, you look like you have a grasp of things," Danny began as he turned to Lucas, to snap him out of his anxiety and set him to work. "Who is he working on?" Danny asked and motioned over his shoulder, with his chin, at Max.

"That is Mr. Westbrook," Lucas answered sheepishly, his voice even squeaked a little. "Last to meet his end, but arguably, the first and primary target."

"Why do you say that?" Steve asked.

"Because of the method of his death. It was calculated and in very close proximity. The person had to have knowledge of anatomy for such a blow. His wife may have had something to do with it but she died in a horrible and painful ways. If revenge was the motive and the killer wanted him to experience horror before he died, then watching his wife die of poisoning was the way to do it," Lucas explained.

"Do we know how she was poisoned yet?" Danny asked.

"We do. Care to show them, Lucas?" Max asked.

"If you'll follow me," Lucas said with a nod to Max and a return to his professional demeanour, he motioned to another body that was in the room with them. "Doctor Bergmann discovered a splotchy spot on Mrs. Westbrook's arm," he said and covered the arm and motioned to the location. "Upon further inspection, he found a paint residue on, and around, the wound. The poison was absorbed through the sink and therefore moved slower, but was still very effective."

"Paint?" Danny asked suspiciously as he turned back to Max.

"Oil based, to be exact. Was there an art class this victim visited on that ship?" He asked in return. "My theory is that she was bumped on purpose and the substance used to remove the paint, was laced with the poison, if it wasn't a pure substance to begin with," he finished.

"Do we know what it was?" Steve asked.

"The toxicology report has not yet come back," Lucas answered.

"Whatever it was, it was pure enough to kill her after one exposure through the skin," Max added from across the room. "Someone knew what they were doing."

"What kinds of chemicals could do that, if you had to guess, Max?" Danny asked hypothetically.

"My guess would have to be a high concentration of Nicotine. It is an oily substance that binds to water and would mix into the paint without a trace. It's also readily soluble in alcohol, ether or light petroleum, and so the attempt at cleaning would not have removed the nicotine from her skin," Max explained. "But rather, it would have helped it to be absorbed into the skin. The effects would have set in rather quickly, and your victims would have gone into respiratory arrest in as fast as fifteen minutes after the exposure."

"They were just waiting for the moment to strike, maybe she was the initial victims," Danny said as he stepped back from the body.

"We need to wait and see what Toast finds on these two," Steve said cautiously. "We don't want to jump the gun here, but we do have to look into who and why they would be using paint on the ship," Steve said as he moved back toward the Medical Examiner and the body he was working on. "What's he telling you, Max?"

"He was healthy, young, in very good shape physically and the strike against him was precise and meant to kill. I cannot agree with Daniel, on his theory, I'm sorry. This man was also a target, if not the one true victims, I'm sure of it. The young crew member was just unlucky and the wife was pay back for something he'd done to merit being murdered," Max explained and motioned to the crew member now. "I did get tissue samples from under her fingernails. She fought hard. Her body is covered in defensive wounds. It was a very violent attack and I do not know how others didn't see or hear it. There is more truth to be found on that ship then you think there is."

"The crew member we are working with said that there was a crowd gathering outside the woman's lavatory, but how do we question people without giving away our cover?" Danny asked. "And without questioning people, how do we find out if they saw anything?"

"We stop in Oahu next, and the ship is only here for the day. Maybe we have Kono and chin, and members of HPD board the boat and conduct questioning on our behalf," Steve offered.

"You think it will be that easy?" Danny asked with a laugh of derision. "If crew members are involved, then they know who we are, and how do you think you're going to keep the people on the boat?"

"We'll have to come up with something," Steve said and sighed as his phone pinged in his pocket. "Kono and Chin have the identity thieves in custody."

"Good maybe we'll get some answers," Danny said in response to Steve and his text. "Let us know what else you find, would you Max?" He asked just before he moved to leave.

"What do you want to do now?" Steve asked as Max nodded and carried on with his autopsy.

"I want to talk to Kono and Chin and to see what they got from the identity thieves!" Danny said.

"Great idea, Detective," Lucas said excitedly and smiled widely at a man he idolized.

"Thank you, Lucas, keep up the good work," Danny said awkwardly and walked out.

"I think he likes you," Steve added to Lucas, as he followed his partner.

"You'll make the team, if you decide to relocate to Oahu," Max laughed as his friends left.

"Do you really think so?" Lucas asked, wide eyed, once more.


	10. Revenge Plot

**_A/N: Happy Friday! Can you believe the summer is almost over...blah. I am going to try and keep up my schedule through the school year, but if I falter, it's because I have a lot of work to do. But don't fret, I have a couple more weeks to go, so things should stay on track for now._**

Chapter 10: Revenge Plot

"Cecile and Cyrus McLeod are two elderly members of the Helping Hands retirement community, in North Caroline. Who are you?" Chin Ho Kelly asked the man before him as he walked into the unfamiliar interrogation room and stopped, looking up from his tablet at the man who was not who he claimed to be.

"My name is Cyrus McLeod, it's common enough," the man answered and his accent was thick and European but not quite Scottish.

"As far as we can tell, no it's really not that common. And the credit cards you've been using and billing to an address in North Carolina have been frozen and are under investigation because Cyrus McLeod has no recollection of the cards or the photographs of you he'd been shown, nor does he or his wife recognize your partner in this identity theft. So I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt and ask you one more time; who are you?" Chin asked as he read off the tablet in his hands. "And who is your partner?"

"She's a nurse," the man answered, avoiding the initial question.

"In the army," Chin added as he looked up.

"Navy," the man corrected and realized his mistake at once.

"And you were an officer as well," Chin said with a smirk on his face. "Mr. George Collins?"

The man blanched slightly in colour at the address.

"An officer with a discharge that wasn't as honourable as you would have liked, because you'd been caught posing as other people to gain access to classified information and put sensitive intelligence and personnel in danger. People like Hewitt Westbrook," Chin accused as he revealed the amount of information and identification they had already uncovered.

"Who?" The man asked.

"The man you stabbed in the chest with medical precision, in the ship's dining room," Chin answered. "Did you learn the anatomy from your nurse friend?"

"I didn't stab anybody," George Collins gasped at the accusation. "Sure, I stole the identities and I profited from it, but I've never killed anyone."

"Oh no, because Phoebe is the one with the medical training. Is she the one who killed a man with a champaign flute and such precision?" Chin asked, his voice raised above a yell.

"No, she didn't, it wasn't her. Okay, she didn't kill anyone either, not even the girl in the washroom," George answered in a panic.

"Then who did and why are you helping them?" Chin asked much calmer now.

"Look, if I tell you, they'll kill me and Phoebe as well," George said and shook his head.

"You're in custody, they can't get at you and you'll be staying in a very secure location for your crimes," Chin explained as if it needed to be said.

"Clearly these guys are ready to wait. Look at how long they waited to get at Hewitt and Janice. I knew Hewitt in the service, sure, and he was an upstanding young man, and sure when he'd caught me he couldn't believe what I was doing, but I knew I'd get caught one day. He should have stay away from Janice, though, that was his downfall," George said and lowered his eyes.

"You knew that murder was the plan and you and Phoebe went along with it? I can put you up on accessory charges, hell, with my sway I could see you charged with the murders right now. Is that what you want, all to protect someone else?" Chin asked.

"If I tell you, and with your, so called, sway, can you protect Phoebe?" George asked.

"Yes," Chin answered.

"Can you keep her out of prison? I'll take the blame for all of it, just don't let her give birth in prison, please," he pleaded.

Chin raised a skeptical eyebrow to the conman before him.

"It's not a lie. We found out she was pregnant just before we got the call for this operation. I'd been out of the life for a long time and she'd managed to hold down an honest job at a hospital back home, for just as long. We just couldn't say no to them because of what they knew about us and how deep we were involved before, and because they'd threatened to kill us if we didn't cooperate," George explained.

"And what do these men have on you?" Chin asked.

"Ken and Dick smuggle people. Phoebe would check them out and I'd forge their documents. Dick met Janice when they were children, and went to school together until he joined the Navy," George began to tell his story and fidgeted with his cuffs. "I stole intel for Dick so that he could move the merchandise and that's how I was caught and discharged in the first place. Ken knew Hewitt in the service as well and tried to get him on board with their operation, because Hewitt had access to a lot of transportation methods, but Hewitt was an honest, upstanding, man and turned the crew over to the authorities. He met Janice in the court room when he testified against her, then, fiancé."

"Dick and Janice were engaged?" Chin asked and again he was very skeptical.

George nodded. "He went to prison and she jumped ship, but he got out and so did Ken, and when they went looking for Janice, even though she had sent letters to end everything, they found her in love with the enemy. Hewitt and Janice just got married a little over a year ago and Dick had been planning his revenge long before he even knew that she betrayed him."

"So why is she dead?" Chin asked.

"She sullied herself by marrying the man who couldn't fall in line with their business model," George answered with a sigh. "He's always been over the top and terrifying like that. A true psychopath. He could sway anyone with his charm, be anyone he wanted to be, and when he didn't get his way... I saw him once break a man's fingers, one by one, because the man wouldn't sell him a cow."

"Where are these men now?" Chin continued his line of questioning.

"On the ship, disappeared, long gone since the two new guys onboard are cops, I don't know the plan. I just know that I was there to cause a distraction and make them rock solid identities," George said with a shrug. "I don't know the plan, I swear, I just know that I had a part to play, so did Phoebe and now that they are bound to get caught, I'm as good as dead if they find me."

"What was Phoebe's role in all of this?" Chin asked darkly.

"It was her job to make sure Janice took the art class and we made a scene outside the lavatory while Kenneth went to make sure that Janice was dying," George confessed. "We were in the full swing of our act when the little server snuck by, and we were being shuffled away and detained while Ken snuck out all bloodied. He got away with it though, or you wouldn't be here," George answered.

"So Dick killed Hewitt?" Chin asked.

"Yes, that was the plan all along. Phoebe taught him all the anatomy she knew. She was suspicious when he wanted to learn and kept coming around our place in London. Why doesn't he just take a class?, she'd ask. At first, that was all we were there for, and last month, he told us he needed us on this ship. We were too afraid to say no, knowing what we'd just found out."

"And you ran this morning for one last ditch effort to save yourselves?" Chin asked.

"Yes," George admitted. "We needed off the boat and all we'd have to do, as the tourists in the grand plan, was to miss the departure and fly away from Hawaii to disappear again."

"You weren't expecting the involvement of Five-O?" Chin continued his line of questioning.

"Who?" George looked at him questioningly.

"The governor of Hawaii has an elite task-force. We're called Five-O," Chin explained and watched the man very carefully for signs of his tells. "We have full immunity and means in this island chain, so we're above the law on that ship and have ways to take over where we need to," he finished as the man before him listened carefully.

"Well, I hope you're just the oversight that they need to end Ken and Dick's reign of terror. They are back at their business, based out of Dublin. Does your reach span that far?" George asked.

"If we catch them in Hawaii, it will," Chin answered and saw relief appear on George's face.


	11. Hallway Rendezvous

Chapter 11: Hallway Rendezvous

"What did she give you?" Chin asked as he stepped out of the interrogation room and greeted his cousin who had been dealing with the other suspect.

"Everything," Kono answered and there was scepticism in her tone. "It was a farfetched story."

"Tell me her story, because his seemed farfetched as well. He gave me two names," Chin said with a shrug.

"Ken and Dick?" She asked. "But nothing more, just Ken and Dick?"

"Yes," Chin said and made note of it on his tablet.

"Worth looking into," Kono commented. "Should we have them transferred to Oahu?"

"We should probably get them somewhere safe if what they told us is true," Chin offered. "The safer they feel, maybe the more they will give us if we need to ask more questions."

"But the ship is sailing to Oahu tonight, do you think that's wise? If what they say is true, then these men will know that something is up when they don't return to the boat," Kono continued thoughtfully.

"Good point," Chin said with a sigh as he looked it to see Steve and Danny coming toward them. "What are you doing here?" He asked in shock.

"Came to see Max, figured we're check in on our way back with you. Get anything good from the two you took into custody?" Steve asked.

Chin and Kono proceeded to answer the question while telling the story from both side and surprising each other with just how close the stories were.

"Well, the baby is easily verified," Danny commented. "Have her checked out by one of our fave doctors back home, or here on this island."

"About that, should we move them if the ship will dock in Honolulu tomorrow?" Chin asked.

"What are they going to do?" Steve asked with a laugh.

"They know we're onto them, they know you're not really vacationers, and they'll know we have their accomplices as soon as they don't make it back to the ship before it sets sail again," Kono offered. "The one glimmer of hope, in the whole thing is that they only believe there are two of you on the ship. At least that's the consensus between the two we have in custody."

"Which makes for a very volatile situation for you," Chin continued. "Maybe not for Charlie, Toast and Lou, but you and Danny have been made."

"So maybe they will run on Oahu," Danny said thoughtfully as he crossed his arms. "If Toast can point out these men, maybe we can spook them into running off the ship and right into your hands."

"Or maybe they'll just sneak into our room and murder us in our sleep," Steve said and for the first time he sounded like Danny and garnered himself sceptical looks from Chin, Kono and his partner. "What, it's true?"

"You're not wrong," Danny said. "But let's face it, these guys aren't going to be stupid enough to go by the names that the fugitives gave you so we may be a step ahead of them by the time we get back to the ship, if you've sent the Intel back to Toast already."

"He's on it," Chin confirmed that he'd already sent along the names. "And I have Erik back in the bullpen running searches through Interpol."

"Is he bitter we left him behind?" Danny asked with a grin.

"Yes, and no. He knows you aren't keen on his undercover skills but he's unhappy that he doesn't get to party with you on the ship," Kono answered with a wink. "He is, however, very happy to have the office to himself and Jerry is there to help him out. Jerry is all about stuff like this, so Toast has him looking into all avenues of the trafficking accusations and escape of these two fugitives from prison. Whatever the case, we should have a heavily loaded case against them by the time we catch up to them. Not just murder."

"Thank God for the geek squad," Danny said sarcastically as he rolled his eyes.

"So what should we do?" Kono asked.

"As soon as the ship leaves again, get back to Oahu. You can take your time with the two in custody but I want you two back on our turf before we get there," Steve answered decisively and gave his orders as succinctly as he could. "Danny and I need to get back and even though they know that we are not vacationers, they don't really know who we are, or at least we hope they don't. We're going to keep up with our charade until we can pounce. We still need to locate and identify these two men."

"I guess that's that then, back to the boat," Danny said with a sigh.

"You have a better idea?" Steve asked shortly.

"No, I just wanted to stay on land," Danny answered with a shrug but Steve could tell that something else was up with his parter.


	12. Art Class

**_A/N: Happy Friday...almost Saturday! It's been a day, I'm sorry this took so long and it's so short. More next week I promise!_**

 ** _Thank you all so much for reading! I'm so grateful that so many of you Five-O fans are still around and are supporting this story! I can't thank you all enough for the comments and encouragement! More to come soon!_**

Chapter 12: Art Class

Danny and Steve took a cab back to the ship and made a quick B-Line back to their room. They found Toast sitting on the balcony with his laptop and a stack of paper. Carl was with him.

"So what have you found for us?" Steve asked as he exited his room and Danny followed.

"Surprise, Surprise, Kenneth Monkeith and Richard Rosswell are not on this ship. At least not in the records," Toast said sarcastically. "I'm waiting for word back from Jerry and Eric. They managed to get me the last names for your Ken and Dick, which will make their searching much easier, but they are slow going back in the office as well. I'm hoping they can get us mug shots at the very least from their previous cases. Until then, we're blind to the danger, so to speak and you and Danny have to do the old fashion detective work. The rest of my searches have come up empty, except for George and Phoebe. Charlie has gone down to the art space to gather some samples and will be bringing the instructor up here for questioning. She's probably your best lead right now."

"Rachael is a good girl, from Rome. I doubt that she has anything to do with this," Carl added. "But she will tell you everything she saw, and it will be truthful. I trust her."

"She checks out as far as I can tell," Toast continued as he turned the laptop around for Steve and Danny to look at. "I have a feeling that Phoebe and George wanted to get caught. Their identities were very easy to crack and if George is as good as he says he is, based on what he told Chin and how hard it's been to find Ken and Dick, they shouldn't have popped up as quickly as they did."

"Not fast enough to say any lives," Danny said with a huff as he leaned against the partition. "But they seem to be cooperative enough. And I don't want to see her have the baby in prison."

"We'll help them out, if their info pans out for us," Steve said authoritatively.

Danny nodded and tried to hush his partner. The balcony was now quite crowded and open to the air, but Danny wanted to move the conversation inside as the balconies above and below them could have harboured open ears. "We should move this inside. You don't know who is listening out here," he added to make his point clear. "Anyone could be listening and our covers will be blown."

"Maybe a little gossip would be good for us," Steve said thoughtfully.

"We've already had the mass hysteria talk, no gossip! Could you not go absolutely insane on this ship, please?" Danny asked as Charlie exited the room he was sharing with Toast and a young woman followed him anxiously.

"This is Rachael," Charlie said to the gathering as pleasantly and cheerfully as he could muster.

"Hello," the young woman was shy and timid, but her appearance was tidy, except for her painting apron and her shoulders bore the emblem of the cruise line.

"We'd like to ask you some questions if you don't mind," Danny said and motioned toward the other room.

She nodded and was lead away.

"Did you find the stuff?" Steve asked before he followed his partner and the woman.

"I believe I have, but I don't have the equipment here to safely test it," Charlie answered and pulled a plastic biohazard evidence bag out of his kit; which was disguised as a camera bag.

"I'll take it to your people on the wharf, and they can take it back to Oahu and your team there," Carl offered.

"Thank you," Steve said with a slight bow and then followed Danny and the young lady. "I think you've earned some rest, Charlie," he added just before he disappeared into the room and slid the balcony door closed.

"Yeah right," Charlie laughed and followed Carl as he left through the nearest door.

In their state room Danny and Steve introduced themselves more formally and then stood before the young woman as they motioned for her to sit in one of the only chairs in the room.

"By now you should know that we aren't actually guests of this cruise line," Danny said as he watched her nervousness grow. "I'm detective Danny Williams, this is my partner Commander Steve McGarrett and we belong to the Governor's Special Task-Force in Hawaii. You're not in any trouble but we believe you can help us with out investigation," he explained and sat down on the edge of the bed before her. "I want to assure you that you are safe with us."

"We believe that the incident that occurred several night ago, aboard this ship, began with and altercation that may have taken place in one of your art classes," Steve added and saw the realization and knowledge come into her eyes as she nodded.

"She's dead, isn't she?" Rachael asked fearfully.

"Unfortunately, yes, she is, and we believe that the poison was administered in your class," Danny answered. "Can you tell us who was involved?" He asked as he saw fear come into the young woman's face but there was also knowledge. She knew what had happened and it showed.

"Mario Costanzo, he's one of the primary coordinators for the recreational events and classes on the ship. It's his job to make sure everyone on the ship has a good time and that you're never bored onboard. He was there to paint with us, he's very good, and he bumped into her with a full pallet of oil paint. We tried to clean it off but she left in a huff to change and I haven't seen either of them since," She explained. "He's still working, but he hasn't come back to the art classes."

"And would he have had access to your paints prior to the class?" Steve asked.

"Yes, I suppose," she answered. "But the paint he was using wasn't what we were using in the class that day. It was a water colour class. Charlie found the oil paints in the garbage, not the same brand we generally use either. Mario must have brought them himself. Generally that kind of stuff isn't allowed, but because he's a coordinator I would assume that he had access to the inventory in the warehouse that stalks the ships and could get around rule and regulations."

"He could have mixed the poison even before the ship sailed and stashed them in the art room for the opportune moment," Danny said as he looked to his partner.

"Oil painting classes weren't going to happen until the return voyage," Rachael piped in again. "We do teach them but they were going to be a three day course as we sailed back to the mainland."

"He would have waited had he needed to," Steve said. "But acted when the opportunity arose."

"Do you know much about him?" Danny asked.

"He's a flirt," Rachael answered. "But I think you need to be very sociable to head up the activities on the ship. He participates in a lot of them so it wasn't odd for him to join the class. People on the ship know who he is and why he's here. That's his job."

"Who does he hang out with, if you don't mind me asking," Steve questioned as he took the other chair and finally sat down.

The young lady's eyes fell to the floor and she looked almost ready to cry.

"Are you all right?" Steve asked with a concerned anxiety as he looked to Danny for help. "Was it something I said?" He asked.

"Did Mario kill Maria?" She asked as tears rolled down her cheeks.

"At this time we cannot be certain," Danny answered as formally as he possibly could.

"Maria was the kindest, sweetest, most genuine person I'd every met. Everybody loved her, and she was completely smitten with Mario. They loved to dance together late into the evening, after the dinner service was over. They were an absolutely adorable couple, and she was so happy."

Danny and Steve exchanged looks of concern as the young woman spoke.

"Am I going to be safe here?" She asked once she'd stopped crying. "Mario will know that something is up," she said as a deep, desperate fear started to set in. "He's too involved not to."

"We can fake and additional poisoning to see if he returns to the scene to clean up his mess," Steve said as he perked up.

"We better do it soon, and get her off of this ship, ASAP. We're not going to put anymore lives at risk," Danny said and Steve was shocked that he had agreed to it.


	13. Interrogation On Board

**_A/N: Thank you so much everyone! It makes me so happy to know that there are still Five-O fans out there looking to read my stories! I've missed you! Oh, so you all wanted some badass Danny and Steve, I think I give you a little 'something something' in this chapter! Enjoy!_**

Chapter 13: Interrogation On Board

An emergency alarm sounded on the main deck and moments later a pair of ambulances arrived on the pier beside the monstrous ship. Personnel and passengers rushed around, gossip flooded the ears of the wanderers and as quickly as wild fire the news spread about the art teacher going into respiratory arrest and collapsing in her classroom. The ambulance fled the scene, sirens blaring, and then there was calm on the pier gain. The Commodore made an emergency announcement to calm those who were onboard the ship and once the ambulance had left the pier was reopened to the public as people tried to return to the ship to see what was happening.

Danny and Steve camped out in the art room with Carl. All was dark and quiet. They knew better than to expect that Mario would make a mad dash for the space, but once things quieted down they were pleasantly surprised when the door opened. The electric lock, with its keypad, gave away the entrance of someone with access codes, and as the lights flickered on and the door shut behind him, Mario Costanzo found himself staring down the barrels of the Five-O guns.

One split second of hesitation had Mario turn around to see the primary security officer aboard the ship behind him, also armed, which wasn't common, and Mario knew he'd been caught. His hands flew into the air, he fell to his knew was and handcuffs were fastened to his wrists before anyone spoke.

"Welcome to the party Mario, or should I say, Kenneth?" Danny said as he lowered his weapon and re-holstered it. He crossed his arms and stared down the fugitive before him. "Surprise," he said flatly.

"Your poisoned paints have been sent to the crime lab. You're under arrest for the murder of Janice Westbrook and Maria Trassino," Steve added and followed his partner as the man before them was pulled up from the floor and placed in a chair for questioning. "What do you have to say for yourself?" He asked when all had settled and the scene was set for his interrogation.

"I'll say nothing without may lawyer," Mario stated defiantly.

"Should we tell him who he's really dealing with?" Steve asked his partner with an almost excited giddiness.

"Calm down, wouldn't you rather wait until we're in international waters so that we can slap him with even more charges?" Danny asked. "I mean, we've got nothing but time here and he ain't talking."

"I know you're cops and only cops, so you have no jurisdiction once we're in international water," Mario said and spat at their feet. "You don't scare me."

"I'm a navy SEAL," Steve said and looked around him. "And you're with Her Majesty's Royal Navy," he added and pointed at Carl. "And you are an officer with immunity and means, thanks to the governor of Hawaii, giving you jurisdiction over this boat, and well the company itself called us out here," he finished with a nod and a wink at his partner. "So I don't know where you got your information from, about us being just cops, but you're quite wrong."

"Not as smart as you think you are, now are you?" Carl asked. "I guess that's why you work recreation."

Fire flashed in the fugitives eyes.

"Oh we know about your human trafficking and the identity theft, and the why you decided to help your friend get revenge on Hewitt Westbrook, but why did you kill Maria and Janice, and why would you put two murder charges on yourself and only one of Dick?" Steve asked.

"I want a lawyer!" Mario demanded.

"You're not getting one," Steve said and laughed. "That's not how we work, not yet at least and not until I get answered that I want from you." He added and handed his weapon to his partner and then ripped off Mario's shirt. "Camera." He ordered and Danny handed the professional grade device to his partner and Steve started snapping photos. "Do those look like defensive wounds to you?" He asked as he pointed out the scratch marks on the man's chest.

"They do, and are you wearing makeup?" Danny asked as he took a closer look at the man and the progress of his wounds and the lack there of on his face. "You probably could have made a living as a painter," he added in a make shift complimentary way but also to egg on his partner.

"Painting, we're in an art room, there has got to be something here that could get that stuff off of your face," Steve said as he caught what his partner was alluding to and handed the camera back to Danny. "Let me give you a hand with that."

"You can't let them do this!" Mario cried to Carl at his side. "I have rights!"

"I don't know what you're talking about. They're just doing their jobs," Carl countered. "There should be some acetone some where in here," he added and motioned to the cabinets.

"That should take it off and sting a little," Steve said as he flung open cabinets and drawers. "Ah, let's see," he said and pulled out a couple of bottles.

"You can't do this!" Mario cried and squirmed in his seat as Steve came forward and poured a bottle over his head. "Someone Help me!" He screamed.

"Have a rag," Danny added and tossed a piece of cloth across the room at his partner.

Vigorously, and between curses and coughs, Steve rubbed at the fugitives face revealing black eyes, bruises, and scratches that spoke where the fugitive would not.

"At least she fought hard, you piece of shit," Steve hissed in the man's ear as he moved to retrieve the camera and started taking photos that would prove the fight occurred.

"Maria didn't deserve to die," Carl practically growled in the man's ear.

"So, now that you've thoroughly angered these two men of the law, care to explain why?" Danny asked as he half leaned half sat on one of the art benches.

Mario stared angrily and filled with defiance, his eyes red and stinging from the solution Steve had poured over him.

"It's okay, you don't needed to tell me, I know. I'll tell you what happened and your tells will tell me all about your guilt. Ready, here we go," Danny said and the man started to struggle against his restraints. "You played that girl like a fiddle, and then when she caught you for who you really are you had to kill her. But you didn't think that a sweet little thing like that would ever have the strength to fight you like she did, did you, because you make a living abusing and selling the weak and marginalized. In your white privaledge male mind, you didn't give a second thought to a strong woman. You used your charm on Maria, just as you do before you sell girls into sex slavery and you figured you could knock her around enough to shut her up and make her submissive, just like the others, but she fought back, and fought back harder then you ever imagined a woman could. So you grabbed her by the hair and you slammed her head against the vanity over and over, until she died!" Danny accused, his voice getting angrier and more forceful.

"Stop!" Carl yelled.

Danny's voice had grown in volume and anger as the face of the man before him turned to stone, his breathing became shallow and seethed with anger and Danny egged him on until Carl cracked under the pressure. Not exactly the way he'd wanted this to go, but proving something to Danny about the character of the chief of security on the ship.

"Do you need to step out while we finish?" Steve asked as Danny turned his back, rolled up his sleeves and cracked his knuckles. He placed his weapon on the art bench beside Steve but did not turn back to the fugitive while he waited for Steve to clear the room.

"I think I do," Carl said as he gasped for air trying to fight his emotions.

"Stand watch outside, we're almost finished with him," Steve said as he opened the door for Carl and found Lou standing guard on the other said.

"All's quiet, boss," Lou said and nodded at Steve.

"Keep an eye on this one and talk him down," Steve said as Carl exited the room.

Lou nodded his understanding once more and turned to look down the hall away from the art room. The door closed and was locked once more before Danny turned back to the handcuffed man and landed a right hook and then a left before he spoke.

"Slammed her into the wall, bleeding," he said and connected with the man's face again. "Bashed her brains in." Another one to the jaw. "Put all your might into killing her because she had the nerve to fight back." Once more his right hook connected to the fugitives nose before Steve pulled Danny away and the man slumped, spat blood on the floor but didn't raise his head.

"That'll do, Danny," Steve said calmly and Danny walked to the other end of the room.

"So, Kenneth, let me tell you what will happen now. You will be removed from this ship and will be remanded into custody. You will be encouraged to keep quiet about Detective Williams and myself, and you will be put up on murder charges here and trafficking charges back home. You will be removed by the navy to a facility that doesn't exist according to the governments of most countries and you will rot there until you die. You have forfeited all of your human right because you have killed and victimized too many people," Steve explained as if this calm that had come over him was all part of his job, but really it was for intimidation. Both he and Danny had played their parts to a T. "You don't have to say anything to us, because we already know what you've done. You are covered in the evidence of it, and so whether you get a lawyer or not, you're guilty and we can prove it. Also, we know that Richard is on this ship. We know what he wanted and we will find him. He will know that the art teacher got away safely, that Phoebe and George have been arrested and will give testimony against you both. And finally, he will know that you are no longer here to back him up. The end of the line is in sight, sir, and you have the right to remain silent..."

Steve's speech was met with maniacal laughter from the fugitive before him. "You can't get at Dick," he said and continued his decent into madness.

"One final swing, this time from Steve and planted just right, knocked the man out cold and ended the craziness.

"What do you think he means by that?" Danny asked.

"I don't know but he's already underestimated us once. We have the upper hand now," Steve answered, moved to the door and popped his head out once again. "All right, Lou, you're on," he finished and Lou rolled a laundry cart into the room and was followed by Carl.

"Aren't you worried about brutality charges?" Carl asked as he looked at the unconscious man.

"Nope," Steve said as he and Lou hoisted the man out of the chair and into the laundry bin and then covered him with towels. "He'll be meeting with out boss at a secured, military, location unlike anything he's ever experienced in his criminal career. He won't be saying boo to anyone about anything after that."

"Get him outta here and get back to your post," Danny added as he walked to a sink, washed his bloody hands and dried them, and then went back to Carl's side. "I'm sorry about that ugliness before, but he needed to know the brutality of his action and I needed to see the fear in his eyes as he became helpless before me."

"It's all right, I just wasn't ready to hear you talk about Maria like that," Carl confessed. "I know how she died, it haunts me. I just couldn't hear about it like that."

"She was a brave, strong, woman and we will gain justice for her," Danny vowed. "I hate women beaters and child abusers more than anything else in this world. I'm a cop for them, and justice for those who need me," Danny said, his voice gruff and determined, and then he left the art studio all together.


	14. Stick To The Plan

**_A/N: Happy Friday Five-O fans! Thanks so much for reading, I'm so glad so many people are enjoying this! It's almost finished, just a few more chapters to go! Thank you so much for reading._**

Chapter 14: Stick To The Plan

Danny and Steve retreated to their room while Carl and Lou got the fugitive off the boat. They watched from the balcony as the box was 'emptied' into an unmarked police cruiser and both men returned to the ship unnoticed because they had conducted their business off of one of the loading platforms away from any of the passenger areas.

Charlie and Toast had also fled into their room to carry on their work and Steve and Danny knocked on the balcony door before being let in.

"So it worked?" Toast asked and Danny could tell that he was getting nervous.

"We got Kenneth off the boat but Richard is still elusive," Steve answered. "Find anything out about him?" He asked of the hacker.

"Cross referencing information, still trying to get a facial match to run against the manifests. Jerry is having some issues, it seems that this Richard Rossworth didn't like having his picture taken," Toast explained. "I have an old mug shot, but facial is struggling with it," he added and turned the laptop around.

"He looks like a Sasquatch," Danny gasped in shock at just how hairy the man was.

"Yeah, needless to say, the cruise line has a policy for their employees and there isn't anyone on board matching that," Toast said. "He's had facial reconstruction done. The computer can remove the hair and get down to the structure, but if you have a nose job, or have your chin shade down, or all manner of implants, then it gets a little bit difficult."

"He can't change his eyes though," Danny comment.

"Glasses or contacts will obscure things, and retina scanning needs very close pictures of a person's face. Jerry's working on it, but it could take a while," Toast explained.

Danny cursed under his breath and began to pace.

"So what else is there to do?" Charlie asked from his place on the sofa.

"Did you sleep?" Steve asked.

"Little but, but I'm more hungry then tired," Charlie answered.

"I could use a drink, or twelve," Danny commented sarcastically as he looked at his bruised knuckles.

"You want to leave the room?" Toast asked in shock. "When you know that a murder is on the loose and you've removed his greatest allies? And if that wasn't enough, he know that you aren't guests, which means, he probably knows that we aren't guests, which means, he can come after us in our sleep!" Toast was at the brink of panic now. "Barricade the doors!"

"Calm down, Toast, nothing is going to happen to you," Steve said to try and put the anxious hacker at ease.

"He's not going to do anything stupid and the ship is going to set sail again shortly so why shouldn't we head down into the dining room, where it all happened, and make a statement?" Danny asked. "Besides, I'd like to see Lou in action."

"Don't you go making his life miserable because you're unhappy," Steve warned. "He's got work to do, and he's probably the only one who's cover isn't blown."

"That was never my plan, in fact, I believe we should keep up the charade as much as we possibly can; to help him out. Not much else we can do until Toast's software can clean up the mountain man and give us a name and a face," Danny said and stretched. "Besides if he's going to make an attempt on us, why not wait until we're asleep and sneak into our rooms? If he's on staff he'll have keys."

"Barricade the doors now!" Toast added again.

"No, don't you're fine," Danny commented.

"Good point, Danno, and yeah I could eat," Steve agreed. "You two coming?" He asked and motioned to Charlie. "Give you fifteen minutes to get ready, tonight is supposed to be Italian night, sounds like a delicious meal you don't want to miss," he finished with a wink.

"We'll clearly we're not sleeping now," Toast said with a huff and his fear shown through.

"Hey Toast, you'll be okay. You're with us and we're armed," Danny said. "And there is some great stuff going on aboard. You might have fun."

"Listen to you coming around to the whole idea," Steve said proudly and smiled at his partner.

"Okay, you win, the ship itself is cool enough but it's still defying gravity and the laws of physics so I'm still skeptical," Danny countered.

"I'll take it. Come on guys get ready and we'll go," Steve said and rushed back to his room.

Fifteen minutes later they met in the hallway and headed down for their seating in the dining room. Lou and his mentor, Anna-Lisa, brought them to their table, took drink orders and left menus. Appetizers were ordered and Steve slipped a note into Lou's pocket out of sight of the bubbly young lady who worked the table full of men. She was knowledgeable about the menu and covered up her sadness very well, but Danny could see it just below the surface.

Just after the mains were finished and the dessert menus were handed out, the Commodore of the ship wandered through the dining room with a few members of his crew; introducing them to the passengers before the ship left port and they would have to resume their posts.

"Gentlemen, this is my first mate Costa Motta and our chief engineer Carlo Bellini," The Commodore said as he neared the table. "We hope to find you well tonight, and enjoying the cruise."

"Yes, thank you," Steve said with a smile and a nod.

General pleasantries were exchanged but nothing was said pertaining to the case and the crew men moved on to the next table full of guests.

"Odd," Danny said in an aside to Steve as dessert was brought to the table.

"Not really, it's routine to get to know the faces on your vessel," Steve commented.

"No, not that, it was something in the way the first mate looked at you," Danny corrected.

"He looked like an officer. It's a serious job. Maybe he saw the sailor in me," Steve said and poured more wine into Danny's glass. "Drink more, you'll feel better."

"Lou," Danny said with a roll of his eyes at his partner. "When you get a chance ask Anna-Lisa about the first mate," Danny whispered as Lou came closer and listened.

"Of course, you can have another creme brûlée," Lou said joyfully as he winked at Danny and laughed.

"What, it's the best I've ever had," Danny said with embarrassment as Anna-Lisa looked across the table and laughed as well. He played along with Lou's jab.

"We've been told it's the best around. We are known for our foods," she said and scurried off with Lou in tow.


	15. Gossip

**_A/N: Hello Everyone! So sorry these are late, I'm not actually at home right now and I'm working on these over hotel dodgy internet. If they don't go up tonight (Friday) then they will have to wait till tomorrow (Saturday) when I get home late in the day. It's a short trip, less then 48 hours, but still I'm on the road and not actually in my own country. I should have worked harder all week, rather than leave it for yesterday and tonight...did I learn my lesson... probably not. Either way, you will get chapters this week, so enjoy!_**

Chapter 15: Gossip

When dinner was finally over, Danny, Steve, Toast and Charlie joined many of the other patrons in the festive activities aboard the ship. They danced, drank, participated in trivia night, and won because it was all about Hawaii, and then caused a scene in the casino as Danny fell into a rather impressive winning streak at the craps table.

Lou and Anna-Lisa, however, had a second, but later, sitting and were stuck in the dining room until almost midnight cleaning up.

Later in the evening Steve and Danny led their friends to the Jazz lounge they'd found on their first night and rejoined the friends they'd made there.

"Mark, Joyce, Lisa and Rodger, these are our friends, Adam and Charlie," Steve said as he was waved to the table by the two older couples. "They were a little under the weather the other night; too much to drink," Steve teased as he wrapped an arm round Toast and pulled him into the group.

"Who's had too much tonight, eh Adam?" Rodger asked with a sympathetic nod to Toast. "We saw you carrying on in the club after dinner."

"Steve loves to dance," Danny commented with a laugh.

"And Drink!" Charlie added.

"We're pacing ourselves tonight, because we want to watch Steve make a fool of himself," Toast said with a wink. "And please call me Toast," he said as he leaned in to shake the man's hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Come to join our round table discussion and debrief on the day?" Mark asked mockingly as the wives giggled. "So much to talk about, so much happened today."

"Our husbands love to gossip," Joyce said and shared a knowing laugh with her best friend.

"Daniel, lad, sit down," Mark ordered and pulled a chair over for him. "You look much better off tonight, if you don't mind me saying. The land visit did wonders for you."

"Well except he had a climbing accident today," Steve countered.

"You young people and all your energy. What happened?" Lisa asked.

"Steve decided we should climb rocks, because we'd been on the sea for so long, and it was time to get grounded by climbing up a rock face, cliff thing, that was once an active volcano or some such nonsense, and I managed to mangle my hands all up because I was clinging to the thing for dear life," Danny said and sheepishly hid them under the table. "I'm more of a flat ground kinda guy, I guess."

"Zip lining in Oahu, tomorrow. We're doing it, just like when we were kids," Steve said and clapped his partner on the back. "It's going to be wild!"

"Land, sky and sea, you boys are going to experience it all," Rodger joked and the Navy SEAL in Steve chuckled.

Danny, Charlie and Toast frowned and the two older couples laughed heartily as they all ordered a new round of drinks and a piano player appeared out of nowhere and began his serenade.

"Did you have a good time ashore today?" Danny asked the ladies as he leaned across the table to get their attention.

"We shopped for a while and the men folk went and learned how to surf, though I believe that didn't end well, and then we were back onboard. No excursions until tomorrow, we wanted one day to explore on our own. We're much more excited about our excursions to Pearl Harbour tomorrow though," Lisa answered and Joyce agreed. "We need a knowledgeable tour guide for that one. So much to learn."

"I'm on vacation, not in school," Mark huffed. "I can already tell you all about that war."

"You weren't there, calm down," his wife scolded. "You'll go on the excursion and you'll pay attention."

"Yes dear," he said sheepishly and the table erupted with laughter again.

"Were you boys away all day?" Rodger asked to begin the conversation again. "Did you miss the big commotion?" He added almost excitedly.

"Commotion?" Charlie asked trying his hand at acting and was met with encouragement from Danny.

"Ah yes, quite an event. Some poor soul went into an attack of some sort, or something along those lines, and was rushed away by ambulance," Joyce explained to her captive audience.

"I'd heard sirens but we thought they were from the city," Danny commented and Toast nodded vigorously in agreement.

"What a shame," Mark said with a shake of his head. "To have your vacation cut short like that, but isn't that the way of life sometimes?" He asked.

"Oh Mark, please don't get all philosophical on us," Joyce scolded her husband.

"I've had too much to drink for that, dear," He countered with a laugh.

"Sorry we missed it. Steve loves to be in the centre of all the action," Danny teased.

"It's true, I really do," Steve admitted. "And I thought watching Danny dangle off a rock face was action enough. I guess I was wrong!"

"This vacation, unlike any other, had been full of craziness. Today, while shopping, some beautiful lady cop tackled a woman in a Victoria Secret, of all places," Lisa stated to carry on with the excitement of the day.

"So true! Never have I ever seen such a beautiful creature in my life, and then wham, she takes out this other woman and is followed by a pack of uniformed officers. It was spectacular," Joyce jumped in.

"Are you sure you're not over reacting?" Rodger asked sceptically.

"I'm not! Oh you believe me, don't you Steven?" She asked as she grabbed his bicep and batted her eyes.

"Sounds like something that would only happen in paradise," Steve answered with a laugh which garnered chuckles from the rest of the table.

"But it's true, I was there," Lisa carried on for her friend. "And another man was lead away as well. Everyone in Hawaii has to be beautiful, it must be a prerequisite to living there."

"Well Steve, I guess you don't fit in here," Danny teased as they felt the engine of the ship spring to life. "Good thing you moved off the island!"

"Hey," Steve laughed. "You're one to talk, Danno."

"All of you boys are very handsome, though you don't look like you get out much," Lisa said and this time directed her concern at Toast and Charlie. "What do you boys do? We heard all about Danny and Steve last night, now it's your time to shine!"

"I'm a desk jockey, ma'am. I rarely see the sun." Toast admitted. "Computers mostly."

"I love computers!" Mark jumped in.

"Don't start that again, Mark. Your son's the computer wiz from MIT, not you," his wife scolded.

"I went to MIT!" Toast stated.

"Well, then you're more then just some regular desk jockey, aren't you dear?" Lisa asked.

"I suppose," Toast said and blushed a little.

"You young people and all your brain power, it's shockingly impressive," Joyce said with a shake of her head. "These computer things never existed when we were young."

"I'm sure you are brilliant as well," Toast commented.

"In our own ways, sure, you flatterer you," Joyce said with a wink.

"Good to see you getting out into nature on this vacation, even if it is to climb rocks," Rodger mocked.

"True," Toast laughed, "my co-workers are bound to be jealous when I show up to work with a tan!"

"And the tackiest Hawaiian shirt you can find to fit into dress code!" Charlie added with a laugh.

"Yes!" Toast cheered.

"Well hopefully we don't meet with any rain while you're on vacation," Mark said with an optimism about him that made everyone smile.

"But it's the rainbow state for a reason. I think I'd be very disappointed if I don't get to see at least one of those famous Hawaiian rainbows while we're here," Joyce said and plastered a pout on her face that made everyone laugh.

"You'll likely see many of them as the islands create much of their own weather and so that is how it rains and then is sunny the very next minute," Charlie explained in his knowledgeable way.

"You a teacher or something?" Rodger asked with a smirk.

"Yes sir," Charlie smiled. "Of sorts."

"Pst, teacher, try professor. Yes, at his age," Danny stated and was met with shocked stairs. "Generally it's very hard to get these two out of academia but my party persuaded them," he finished boastfully.

"What do you teach, if you don't mind me asking," Rodger piped in again.

"Advanced forensic biology and chemistry, as well as a course for physicians on performing autopsies and analysis. I work at Quantico."

"And you weren't around for the collapse today?" Joyce gasped. "The news we'd get had you been here to witness it."

"Well I am on vacation," Charlie said with a laugh. "So, I'm sure I wouldn't have been asked to help out even if I were around."

"Very true, I suppose," Joyce said with a nod, but she was still quite downcast.

"And are you enjoying the break?" Lisa asked to make conversation with the newcomers as well.

"Very much, though the jet lag is getting to me," Charlie answered to cover his previous yawn. "It's a long flight from Virginia to California to get on a boat."

"Jet lag, or are you still hung over from yesterday?" Danny accused. "That could be your problem."

"Drink more," Steve ordered and pushed a drink down the table. "And you'll get a second wind!"

"Keep these two outta trouble," Mark whispered to Toast as he motioned to Danny and Steve. "Or they may end their vacation will cirrhosis of the liver!"

"Ha, like it's even possible to keep them out of anything," Toast laughed as he spoke. "Steve's middle name is trouble, and Danny is his back-up, there is no keeping those two out of trouble, ever. Not even if you tried, trust me! The stories we could tell!"

"Tell them, tell them, we have all night!" The ladies cheered.

"Oh we're in for it now," Danny said to Steve but there was sarcasm in the laugh that followed.

A roar of laughter greeted the comment as Steve and Danny owned up to the accusation, but their new friends didn't know just how true the statement was for the members of Five-O.

The evening carried on until the lounge pianist finished his set and the bartender called last call. Charlie and Toast regaled the group with stories of Danny and Steve, leaving out their true business, and elaborating on events that led to sticky situation. The two couples oohed and aahed over the stories, and the evening passed away pleasantly but quickly. Then the group split up, with a promise to return the following evening for another round table discussion of the days gossip.


	16. Lou And Anna-Lisa

**_A/N: Hello Five-O fans, is everyone excited for the season premier tonight? It's tonight right?_**

Chapter 16: Lou and Anna-Lisa

Steve, Danny, Charlie and Toast retreated to their rooms when the evening was over, but took the precaution to barricade the door, with whatever they could, knowing full well that the remaining killer knew who they were. They needed to try and rest, and this was the best way to do so, without opening them up to being murdered in their beds.

Lou, however, was just as busy as ever. His down time was in the morning when other serving staff filled in at the buffets and in the kitchen, but his job as one of the dining room servers was to keep the dining room in perfect condition. After the second dinner seating, the room was stripped down, tables were moved around and the halls were readied for the activities that would happen in the room during the day; everything from dance classes to lectures and even religious ceremonies. By about noon the wait staff would head in again to reset, dress the tables with the themes for the evening and generally make sure that everything was ready for the first seating. It was a lot of work, and fast paced, but it made the time go by more quickly.

That evening, as he and Anna-Lisa work to move tables around, he decided it was time to chat and breached the subject of the drama that had arisen on the ship. He would be tactful and not pry, but he knew that Steve and Danny were getting impatient, so he had to try something.

"So, how long have you been doing this for?" He asked as the table cloths were stripped away and dropped into bins.

"On the ships; this is my sixth year," Anna-Lisa responded cheerfully. "It's been wonderful and I've seen the world. You're very good, but I can tell you're new to this side of things. Were you a server before?" She asked inviting him to continue.

"I put myself through college working in the big ritzy hotels in Chicago," Lou answered. "It's been a while, but yes, I do know my way around a dining room."

"College is hard when you're on a ship for ten months of the year," The giggle that escaped the young woman was almost an apology.

"You've got all the time in the world. Make the money now, while you can," Lou said with a laugh that was more cheerful then he was used to.

"Truth is, I don't know what I want to do anymore, and my family need the money. So I work and I'm good at it and I hope for the promotions to the big new ships, or into training new people. You're my first trainee, probably because you already know what you're doing," she explained as they worked and he could see that there was so much more left unsaid. "But I gotta ask, why are you back at it, if you went to college and all that?"

"Long story. I guess the short version is that I wanna see the world," Lou answered.

"And the long version is that you didn't make enough in your career to do that?" She asked with a laugh at her own sarcasm.

"Not exactly," Lou said as he stopped and looked across the bare table at her. "My wife left me, my kids are grown and I was getting careless as a cop. Too many of my friends were dying but I wasn't old enough to retire and I had a marketable skill to get me out of land locked Chicago. On a whim I applied and here I am, the timing was all right for me," he lied and veiled some truths to tell his tale.

"A cop, really?" She asked in shock.

He nodded and continued through his work.

"Guess you didn't expect the gossip you found when you got here. I guess, if you were trying to escape the drama of policing," she said and almost curled in on herself. She became shy and despondent as she went through the paces of her work routine.

"I'm sorry about your friend," Lou said genuinely and with his fatherly nature showing through.

"We were so lucky, you know, got the jobs together, managed to be on so many of the same ships. We were together the whole time," she said as tears rolled down her cheeks. "We had dreams, hopes, we were going places and Maria was in love. Sure most people said it was just a fling but I'd never seen her so happy and I'd known her since we were little. I can't believe she's gone," she finished leaned on one of the chairs she'd been moving and a sob escaped her that shook her whole body.

"I'm so sorry for your loss," Lou said as he moved over to the young woman and she reached out and hugged him.

"I'm so sorry," she said after a few moments in the embrace. "That was so unprofessional of me, but you just seem like the, you know, fatherly type and I haven't seen mine in almost a year. I kinda needed that, thank you."

"I have a daughter, don't you worry about a thing. I have loads of practice in that area, come to think of it. I understand," Lou said with a smile. "I got it more often then you could think on the job too. I guess I was just a big old teddy bear in a uniform. The kids that I ran into, they loved me, granted it was likely the worst days of their lives and they needed someone badly, but I like to think it's my smile and winning personality," he added with a wink to make her laugh and she relaxed a little with a smile on her face that was full of gratitude.

They carried on in silence until the room was set up and the rest of the serving staff moved on to other things. Lou and Anna-Lisa moved on together heading into the parts of the ship where only the staff could go. Down to where they had their own places and as they reached a quiet corridor together, Anna-Lisa stopped.

"Can I ask you a question?" She asked as she stopped and whispered.

"You just did, but go for it," Lou said with a nod as he stopped in front of her and leaned on the wall to shield her from anyone coming up behind him.

"Do you think it's because of what happened with Maria that Costa wont even acknowledge me anymore? Can men be that fickle or is it because of the circumstances surrounding what happened?" She asked and hushed her voice even further. "Or am I just a fool to think that someone that high up in the crew, and that much older than me, could actually like me?"

"Who is Costa to you?" Lou asked in return.

"Maria and I did everything together and when she started seeing Mario he brought along his friend Costa all the time. I don't know if I have feeling for Costa or if I was just in it to be a part of something, but now neither Mario nor Costa will acknowledge me, which leads me to think, Mario was just playing with Maria, and that makes me so mad."

"You don't need guys like that," Lou said to try and bolster her self-esteem. "They are scum who will one day feel the sting of the fall from their lofty places and you will rise above them."

She smiled, but almost as quickly the smile was gone. "There is a reason, I guess, that we shouldn't get involved with other crew members. We're just always together on these ships and now it's going to be awkward..."

"Nah, only if you decided to let it be awkward. Do you really have to be involved?" Lou asked. "You have other people on this ship, and you're looking to be moved by promotions anyway, so just keep to it and you'll be fine."

"Sure, I guess, I mean Mario is just in charge of recreation on the ship but Costa is the first mate, I kinda have to deal with him and the Commodore if I have any problems or need the referrals to get the promotions."

Lou's demeanour changed at the revelation of the young lady.

"Costa is the first mate?" He asked nervously and in a little shock. She'd seen the change in him almost immediately.

"Yeah, see my aspirations of grandeur?" She asked with a laugh that was full of distain for herself more than anything.

"Promise me you wont go near that guy!" Lou stated and moved away quickly.

"Lou, wait, what did I say?" She called as she rushed after him.

Lou stopped, spun around and rushed back to her. He grabbed her by the arms and moved quickly toward her room. "I'm going to tell you something in confidence and I need you to listen and be quiet about it," he said in a harsh whisper.

"You're still a cop, aren't you?" She asked fearfully.

"Shh, just stay in your room. Lock yourself in and stay safe until we come to port in Oahu. When we do, and when you are allowed to take land leave, get off the ship and get yourself to Ali'iolani Hale. I will help you if I can, but if I can't wait there for me. Go to the office of the governors task force and wait until I come and get you, that is, if I don't get off this ship with you."

"Lou wait, please, what's going on?" She cried and pulled him into the room away from the cameras in the hall.

"I am a cop, a good one, and I'm here to solve Maria's murder. That's what you want right? You're going to have to trust me when I say that you know too much about the people we're investigating and for your own safety, I need you to get off this ship and away from Costa," Lou said, and as he did, she began to tremble. "Stay in your room, don't let anyone in unless you can verify that it's me and when we come to port we're getting off this boat!" Lou ordered. "Put that chair in front of the door and lock it," he added and rushed away.


	17. Did You Know?

**_A/N: Happy Friday, we're nearly done with this one! Thank you to everyone who has been so into this story! You all make me so happy!_**

Chapter 17: Did You Know?

Being as careful as possible, not to bring anymore attention to himself, Lou rushed off to his room, changed into civilian clothing to blend in, and then moved into the crowds of the upper levels of the ships decks. He stopped in the bars to be seen. Had pizza on the top decks with other servers and moved to enjoy the parties, all with the hope of eventually finding Steve and Danny, or to make it to their rooms to wait for them. He needed to be seen with people on the surveillance cameras because he wasn't sure that his cover had been blown or not. He was the deepest into the act and yet there was one person from the ship that could ruin it all for them, and he happened to be the person Lou was sure they were looking for.

He made his way at last to the state room Danny and Steve were sharing, late in the night. It was later then he'd anticipated and the ship was well on its way to the island of their centre of operations, but Lou knew that he needed to get the information to Steve and Danny. He knocked on the door and waited for a response, when nothing happened he knocked louder.

"Who is it?" Steve's voice was harsh on the other side of the door.

"It's Lou, let me in!"

The moment between the interaction seemed like hours as Lou waited, exposed to the cameras in the corridors, but finally the door opened and to his shock he saw Danny stash his weapon once he realized that he wasn't lying.

"Get in here," Steve said from behind the door and then slammed it when Lou was in the room.

Barricading themselves in, once more, they moved deeper into the room before anyone spoke. "What did you find out?" Steve asked when he was sure they were alone and away from any kind of contact with the outside.

"I believe Costa Molta is Richard Rosswell," Lou confessed as he dropped onto one of the beds. "Anna-Lisa said that Mario and Costa were inseparable when they had leave time and while Mario courted Maria, Costa showed his interests in Anna-Lisa. I'm worried about her now," He finished. "If he knows were onto him, who knows what he might do to that poor girl."

"Like the first mate Costa who did rounds tonight in the dining room with the commodore?" Danny asked in shock.

"Carl has some explaining to do," Steve added angrily as he rushed to the balcony doors, opened them, and moved to the adjacent room.

"It's the middle of the night!" Toast whined as he answered to Steve's assault on the balcony door.

"I need you to confirm that Costa Molta is Richard Rosswell, and I need you to do it now!" Steve said ignoring the hackers protests as he and his companions flooded into their room.

Charlie jumped out of bed, fully clothed, as the lights sprang to life and Toast dropped his protests and woke his system up.

"Charlie, call Carl and get him up here now," Steve ordered as they moved the furniture away from the door.

"Costa Molta is the first mate," Toast added with a gasp. "We met him tonight."

"Yes, and if we're right, if Kenneth was telling the truth, he'd known about us the whole time," Danny jumped in.

"And you want to confront Carl about being in cahoots with them this whole time, don't you?" Lou asked as Charlie reached for the phone and then hesitated.

"Yes," Steve said. "Get him up here now Charlie," he ordered.

"But wait, why here?" Toast asked.

"Because then it's five against one," Steve said.

"You said we'd stay out of the action," Toast protested.

"Go hide in the bathroom, this needs to be done before we get to Oahu!" Steve said and Charlie made the call while Toast rushed off to the tiny space and hid.

Fifteen minutes later, Carl knocked and let himself into the room. The door closed behind him and all at once he was met by the barrels of three guns.

"What the hell is going on?" Carl gasped at the less then friendly reception.

"Cuff him Lou," Steve ordered without relaxing. "You've got some explaining to do," he added and the man before them did not protest as he was handcuffed.

"Have you been in on it the whole time?" Danny asked full of disappointment as Carl was shackled and placed on the edge of one of the beds.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," he answered as Toast popped his head out of the bathroom.

"You're safe to come out Toast," Steve said as he and Lou finished barricading the door once more.

"Facial recognition confirms it, Costa and Richard are the same person," Toast said as he came out of the washroom. "Kono and Chin are already back on the island and working to reinforce the port for when we arrive tomorrow morning," He added and sat on the floor with his lap top in his lap.

"That fast, huh?" Danny asked with a smirk as Carl's eyes grew wide.

"Sure, once I have a name to go on I can take his personnel photo, slam it into one of my more sensitive creations and take it down to bone structure, retina identification and viola, matched to the Sasquatch picture of Richard from back in the day," Toast explained, spun around the lap top and showed his masterpiece.

"No," Carl gasped. "That can't be right!"

"Quit playing, you knew, didn't you?" Steve accused as Danny remained silently watching the man before them.

"I swear, I didn't. I've been working with Costa for years. Never has this ever come up," Carl answered. "The commodore hand picked him six years ago. He was a rising star on the ships."

"Does the commodore know?" Danny asked seriously, more to Steve then to Carl.

"Would he have called you into this and been so accommodating with us if he did?" Charlie asked. "Or am I too naive for the detective job?"

"That is the question. Carl, if you are telling the truth, do you think the commodore knew anything?" Steve asked.

"I've been with Commodore Borgo for as long as I've been on these ships. He was my first commander and I've followed him for security ever since. I trust him, I doubt very much that he knew Costa's history," Carl confessed.

"You understand why we wouldn't believe you?" Danny asked sceptically.

"Of course, this is too closely tied to the authority on this vessel for you to not mutiny against us," Carl said.

"I want to take Costa as quietly as possibly and off the ship if we can manage it," Steve said thoughtfully. "Will he go ashore tomorrow?" He asked Carl.

"Rarely does he leave the vessel," Carl answered. "But you may be able to get him off as the passengers go. He generally watches over the main exit."

"Still, that could cause a huge amount of commotion and Danny would like to see me behave. Besides, he clearly knows who we are and what we are up to. Prove to me you're not on his side and get him off the ship tomorrow morning," Steve said as he moved to Carl and un-cuffed him.

"What makes you think he wont run and tell Costa everything?" Toast asked fearfully.

"Because he'd telling the truth," Danny said decisively and the rest of the room believed him.

"Guess your intuition hasn't been wrong yet, Danno," Steve said and removed the barricade from the door to release Carl. "But if you cross us, you'll spend the rest of your days in the worst prison with the worst criminals you've ever imagined," Steve warned just before Carl could disappear down the corridor.

"I knew Costa rubbed me the wrong way when we met him at dinner," Danny said when Steve had locked the door once more and returned to the gathering in the room.

"You and your sixth sense about these kinds of things," Steve said with a shake of his head. "I guess none of us are getting any sleep tonight."


	18. Disembarkation

**_A/N: Happy Canadian Thanksgiving everyone! It's a long weekend, I'm so excited. If I have time I may get the last chapter of this story typed up and posted as this is literally the second to last in this story! So stay tuned!_**

Chapter 18: Disembarkation

Lou returned to his room and his routine as the ship moved into port. He had shore leave coming up for most of the day and with the heightened security on the ground he figured he'd make sure Anna-Lisa made it off the ship safely and away from Richard without incident.

She opened her door cautiously at the sound of his voice and to her surprise he looked relatively calm and casual.

"Is it over?" She asked as she let him inside the cabin.

"No, it's not, but I'm going to make sure you get off the ship safely today. You are my priority while the rest of my team deals with Costa. His real name is Richard, and he's a real dick. The rest of my team is on this and I would feel much better knowing that you are safe with me," Lou explained and he could see that his protection brought comfort to the young woman.

"I want to know something first, because I know you lied to me as part of your cover," she said as she sat down and he followed her.

"Ask away," he said with a smile.

"Who are you, really?" She asked.

"My name is Lou Grover. I worked as a server to put myself through college. I graduated and became a cop, then SWAT. Things got messy in Chicago and I chose to uproot my family and relocate to Hawaii. Again I was taken on as a SWAT captain, I despised the members of the task-force that I now work on, for their authority and blatant disregard of proper police procedures, but they did good for the people. I got in trouble for disobeying an order and ended up working for the task-force anyway. I have a wife and two kids, and I live in Oahu," Lou explained. "Oahu is my turf now and these guys don't know what they are dealing with on my turf. You'll be safe, and probably a little shock as to who has been helping you this whole time."

"All right, I believe you," she said. "So what's the plan?"

"You have shore leave, so do I, and we're going to walk off this boat together and leave the others to it. So get ready to enjoy yourself or at least pretend to," he said.

The commodore's call to disembark, for the guests on the ship, went out at about 10AM and Steve and Danny were among the first to go, even before the call. Toast and Charlie followed about an hour later and found Steve and Danny near the end of the pier, reunited with the Camaro and ready for work. Toast was whisked off to the office. Kono and Chin remained in place, closest to the ship and watching for the man they now knew was their primary target. Charlie went home to rest.

Lou and Anna-Lisa walked up from within the ship, gathering more people from the crew as they went along. Lou felt better about the disembarkation with a group of people around them. They stopped first at the on deck burger stand, and ate, and made plans to stay together and enjoy the beach, though Lou had little intention of doing so once they were safely off the boat.

Carl check in every fifteen minutes as he watched Costa at a distance. As he'd remarked, Costa stood watch over the people leaving the ship. He hadn't been there when Steve and Danny were snuck off through a loading door but as soon as passengers were allowed to go, Costa took up his usual post.

Anna-Lisa, Lou, and their new posy of crew member made their way off the boat. Many people recognized their servers or stewards as they went along and so process was slow going as they tried to leave. Many people asked about their favourite places on the island. Lou remained quiet as other crew members, who had made the journey before, gave opinions and finally they made their way to the gate and saw the outside world before them.

"Anna-Lisa, where are going?" Costa asked as the stood in line to get off the ship.

Anna-Lisa jumped at the sound of his voice and tensed up as he came closer.

"Down to Honolulu for some shopping and beach relaxation," She said nervously as Lou encouraged her just to keep things moving.

"Quite the crew you have going," he commented suspiciously as he caught Lou's eye.

"Gotta take my new partner out and introduce him to the island," Anna-Lisa said cheerfully as she grabbed Lou's arm and practically hung off it. "He's never been," she added gleefully.

"Ah yes, the new guy. On to take over for Maria," Costa said and the mention of her name caused Anna-Lisa to stress and tense up. She began to tremble. "You must be Lou," Costa said and reached to shake Lou's hand.

"Yes sir," Lou said, hesitantly and pushed away the thought of tackling the man right there and to slap on the handcuffs he had in the pocket of his cargo shorts. He shook the man's hand instead and the exchange ended without incident.

"If you'll wait, I'll come along," Costa said with a smile.

"The longer we wait the less time we'll have to see everything," Lou protested.

"You seem to have a large enough group. Anna-Lisa could stay behind and wait for me," Costa offered.

"No, it was my idea in the first place to take Lou out. I'm going with him," she said and made a move to step closer to the gangway.

"Come on, Anna, for me?" Costa said and reached out and grabbed her arm.

"She said no," Lou protested angrily.

"Look here, subordinate, I'll tell you what to do should I chose to," Costa said authoritatively as Anna-Lisa broke free of him.

"Run, Anna," Lou ordered as he placed himself between the young woman and the suspect.

Shoving Lou out of the way, Costa lunged at Anna again, causing a scene for the passengers to witness, but Anna was quick and managed to push her way off the boat.

Regaining some of his composure, Costa followed but slowly and politely moving through the crowd. Carl moved in to see the commotion, but his path was blocked as Costa disembarked.

Anna-Lisa hit the ground running and dashed up the pier, through the crowd and right to where Steve and Danny were waiting. She hesitated when she saw the shine of their badges, as they stood at the foot of the pier.

"Costa is following me," She said as she rushed forward not knowing they were connected with Lou until she recognized them from the table in the dining room.

"Get in the car," Danny said as Steve tapped his ear and moved into the crowd of people. Danny loaded the woman into the back seat of the Camaro and then got himself behind the wheel and waited for a signal.

Steve moved quickly, having heard from Kono and Chin as they slowly made their way to Costa in the crowd.

"He saw you," Steve called back to his partner as Costa turned toward the car and began to running toward them.

Costa emerged from the crowd at a sprint and rant at the car, Steve had lost sight of him in the crowd but found him again as he lunged at the passenger door and Danny slammed the car into reverse, pulling the man off his feet but leaving him in the smoke of his squealing tires.

The sirens of the Camaro sprang to life and blared their screaming wail over the crowd, and the gathering of people began to scatter. All at once Costa Molta was encircled by a hand full of fully uniformed HPD officers who seemed to appear out of nowhere.

"Richard Rosswell, you're under arrest for the murder of Hewitt and Janis Westbrook and of Maria Trassino," Steve announced as he walked up to the man, his weapon drawn, and the HPD officers moved in sync with him. "Put your hands behind you head, interlock you fingers and drop to your knees," he ordered and the man before him hesitated. "Or run, and we'll shoot you. I have no problem with that, knowing the other international laws you've broken and the people you've terrorized. Give me a reason to kill you."

Richard Rosswell dropped to his knees and the man closest to him grabbed him and handcuffed him. A crowd of bystanders were pushed back by Kono and Chin, and crowd control personnel, but everyone was witness to the arrest of the ship's first mate.

Lou joined Steve with the appended fugitive and smile. "Look here, scumbag, we know what you did and now you're going to prison for the rest of your god given life!" He said mimicking the tone the man had only just taken with him as he clipped his badge to his shorts pocket and followed along with Steve.

"You have the wrong guy," Richard protested loudly to the crowd around him.

"No, we know exactly who you are and what you've done," Steve said and shoved the man into a police cruiser. "Take him away," he ordered as another commotion broke out on the pier behind them.


	19. The Ship Is Ours

**_A/N: Happy Thanksgiving! As promised, here are the concluding chapters of this story. Thank you so much everyone who read this story and commented on it. You are all so wonderful. I am so grateful for you._**

Chapter 19: The Ship Is Ours

"Crowd Control!" Chin stated over the radio which caused Steve and Lou to rush back down the pier toward the commotion and the crowd that had moved back. Crew were exiting the boat, trying to get passengers back onboard, as police officers made their way to the vessel as well, and the Commodore had appeared among all of them. There was a clash at the gangway, as crew tried to stop the movement of Kono and Chin's back up to take control of the ship.

"What is the meaning of this, that is my first mate you're taking away," Commodore Borgo yelled as he rushed off the ship and down into the crowd. "No unauthorized personnel shall board the ship!" He yelled at the police.

Carl followed him but remained calm and collected, trying to allow the members of the police force onto the ship, while also trying to keep the Commodore from saying or doing that might make the Five-Os react to cause an even bigger disruption. Deep down he knew that the ship wasn't moving now that it was moored in Oahu.

"Costa Molta is actually Richard Rosswell and killed your crew member and two of your guests. Were you aware of this?" Steve demanded as he drew his weapon and Lou followed. The crowd around them saw everything and backed away immediately. The crew also stopped in their tracks and police moved in. "Mario Costanzo was his accomplice aboard the ship. His real name is Kenneth Monkeith and both of them are wanted under international law for escaping prison in the United Kingdom. They will now be charged under our laws for murder. Have you been accomplice to this as well?" Steve asked again as his explanation caused the Commodore to go as white as his uniform."

"What?" The Commodore asked in shock as he stopped, raised his hands and spun to see Carl with a weapon also locked on him. "You knew about this?" He gasped as he watched his security officer.

"I was made aware," Carl answered.

"Were you aware of the identity change and their criminal backgrounds? Richard was dishonourably discharged from the navy and his conviction in human trafficking is still standing, did you know?" Steve asked more formally now.

The Commodore's jaw hit the ground. He shook his head, unable to speak.

The crowd around them, who could hear the accusation, gasped.

"The two of them were brought up on charges, facilitated and witnessed by Hewitt Westbrook, the primary target of the murders aboard your ship. This happened under your watch, Commodore, so again, what did you know?" Steve demanded an answer.

"I knew nothing," the Commodore responded in even more shock then before. The man, held at gunpoint trembled and his demeanour completely changed. He was embarrassed and ashamed because he had hand picked the man who had been dragged away from the ship.

"You understand why we need to take you in to answer some more question, don't you?" Lou asked as he stowed his weapon and patted down the Commodore to make sure the man in uniform was not armed. "Your ship will have to remain here in Oahu until we can be sure that you and your crew were not involved with Richard Rosswell's continued attempts at human trafficking. We've found his accomplices on the ship as well, they are in custody, but we cannot be sure that you or anyone else among your crew were aiding or abetting this fugitive of international law. There will be an inquest into this whole ordeal."

"I understand," the Commodore said and went willingly into custody.

"Please carry on with your business, there is nothing more to see here. But you will be required to return to the ship for questioning and for your own protection. Unfortunately, your vacation will likely be delayed here in Oahu as the Honolulu police department carry out this investigation. We are very sorry for the inconvenience. Should you have any complaints please direct them to the office of the Governor of Hawaii or the cruise line," Steve spoke loudly to the crowd as Lou led the Commodore to a group of waiting HPD officers and Carl went along freely to give his own statement. "This investigation now falls under the jurisdiction of the Governor's Elite Task-force; Five-O. I'm Commander Steve McGarrett, welcome to Hawaii," Steve finished, turned and walked back, following Lou and Carl.

More members of the Police boarded the ship and tried to keep people calm and informed as Steve moved back through the crowd and found Danny once again parked were they had began. Anna-Lisa had been removed by another set of officers and Kono and Chin waited with Danny at the car.

The passengers and crew would return to the ship, and all planned activities aboard the ship would continue; meals, recreation, etc, but the ship would remain at port in Oahu. The ship would remain a glorified hotel in the port of Oahu, for the passengers who had begun their journey and the compensation for the delay and interruption would be up to the cruise line to deal with. The Governor of Hawaii arrived shortly after work reached him that the suspects had been arrested and he addressed the crowds of passengers and crew aboard the ship, before leaving again without speaking to the members of Five-O.

"Just couldn't help but cause a huge scene could you? You had to take the ship like a pirate, it was the plan all along, admit it!" Danny accused disapprovingly once the Governor had passed them by, anger in his looks, but he'd done his part.

"It's not my fault that Dick ran!" Steve huffed his retort. "And what else was I going to do?"

"No, this is true, it wasn't your fault that he ran, but did you have to make an announcement to all those people on the pier?" Danny asked. "You should have just waited for the Governor!"

"I was making an arrest!" Steve said, "and they just happened to witness the whole things, so I had to say something!"

"So much for anonymity," Kono said, laughed out loud and moved away to the vehicles that had been provided for her and Chin.

"The ship is ours," Chin added mockingly and followed his cousin.

"So much paper work, you've just tripled the mountain by taking an international vessel into our custody. I hate you so much right now," Danny said with a sigh as he tossed the keys at his partner. "And the Governor is going to kill you for that last statement. You saw his look. You're in so much troubled! That's the only consolation, because I videotaped you on my phone, so if you deny you said it, I have the evidence to prove it!"

"I thought the last statement I made would clear us of all that paper work, that's why I made it!" Steve protested.

"You're full of shit, and so wrong," Danny huffed. "You just made life so much worse. We're going to be drowning in it. No more boats for you, McGarrett. I'm cutting you off because you only ever get us in trouble," Danny finished and fell into the passenger seat of the Camaro.

"You're overreacting!" Steve said as he joined his partner in the car. "Besides, the Governor put us on this case in the first place. He knew what he was asking me to do. He shouldn't be surprised."

"That ship right there, is now our responsibility. That monstrosity right there. I'm not overreacting in the slightest!" Danny yelled as he pointed at the behemoth before them.

Steve looked up at the ship and felt completely dwarfed by it. "Okay, maybe you're right, but there is no need to bitch about it, it's happened, and now we have to deal with it."

"And it's all your fault!" Danny repeated.

"I will not take full responsibility," Steve vowed.

"Because you suck!" Danny accused and fell silent. "Could you just get moving, already, we have more work waiting for us at the office."

"Fine, but admit it, you had a good time on that boat!" Steve said cheekily as he revved the car's engine and peeled away, sirens blaring.

"I'll do no such thing," Danny vowed and fell silent.


	20. Epilogue

Chapter 20: Epilogue

Steve at quietly in his office going over the mountain of paperwork that Danny had predicted, and that, indeed, arrived for the Five-Os to handle when the Governor started receiving angry calls from the cruise line and vice versa. The day dragged and dragged after the capture and the interrogation of the Commodore that finally convinced Danny that the man was telling the truth and that he had no idea of Richard Rosswell's history.

The Commodore, and the rest of his top ranking crew members, were returned to the ship, with Carl, to carry out their duties even though the ship would not be moving for several days. They still had many passengers accommodate while they waited.

Anna-Lisa also opted to return to her duties on the ship, once she had been made aware of the situation on board, and the Commodore himself made an apology to the young woman. He also vowed to help her in any way, shape, or form, to get her the promotions she deserved and to protect her while she remained with him.

After all the excitement of the morning disembarkation and arrests, Steve settled into his office, dealt with one very angry phone call from the Governor and then dove into the international paperwork and connection to see Ken and Dick removed to stand trial and to be returned to their native lands for further prosecution.

Steve was torn away from his paperwork, in the late afternoon, nearing the end of their general office hours, by a knock at his door. Looking up, he waved his partner into the office.

"We have some guests who would like a word with you," Danny said formally with a smirk that cross his face and then he promptly closed the door again.

Confused, Steve stood from his seat and walked around his desk. He exited his office to find Danny at the smart table with a gathering of familiar people.

"So I guess we won't see you boys for drinks tonight," Rodger said as he greeted the commander.

"We saw your big show first hand on the pier this morning," Joyce added with a laugh.

"Oh goodness, what a day," Lisa continued and Mark just nodded as he looked around in amazement at the office space and just where they had ended up, thanks to Danny.

"Wow, hi!" Steve said by way of stowing away his shock at seeing them in the office and not in the jazz lounge. "We could take you for drinks at our favourite place tonight, seeing as your ship is docked here for an investigation. I'm pretty sure Danny has already vetted you, and so you can enjoy the rest of your time here on the island."

"You owe us that much," Mark commented. "And an explanation."

"Danny has been very kind," Lisa added. "You're very good at what you do, dear."

"Awe, thanks!" Danny blushed.

"But I want to hear it from Steve," Mark insisted.

"Oh Mark, stop. Danny's already cleared that up and you googled them as soon as you got a wifi signal on shore," his wife scolded. "You know all there is to know about these boys. He's been positively obsessed with you since this morning."

"Quite the charade, none the less, wouldn't you say. You boys are very good undercover!" Rodger said in defence of his friend. "An elite task-force, murder investigations and an overly elaborate lie to cover your identities. Was any of it true?"

"I have two kids," Danny answered, and using the technology before him, he pulled up a picture for them.

"They're beautiful!" The ladies cooed.

"Awe, Thanks," Danny repeated proudly. "I think they're pretty great, but they are with their mother, my ex-wife, tonight. So I won't be able to introduce you, but I can go out for drinks. I am, however, never getting married again."

"You say that now, dear, but you haven't met the right lady," Joyce countered sweetly and petted his arm. "She's out there somewhere."

"So we know all about Danny, what about you, Steven?" Mark asked.

"I was actually born here, but we're not cousins," Steve added. "Our colleagues are, and my dad was a cop here. The rest, well, most of it is classified information, but I can tell you that I am a Navy SEAL, and the Commander of this unit. And that's about it."

"Yeah, that's all on the internet," Mark said with a wave of his hand. "Tell me something I don't already know."

"I can't, it's classified," Steve said apologetically but with a seriousness that warned them not to pry.

"Well, I guess you had a job to do," Rodger said to accept the explanation and to show that he really wasn't that upset about the whole thing. Mark, however, was less convinced but knew better than to question classified.

"And to think, you boys made friends with us on the boat. This is all to crazy," Joyce said as she looked around the office and gasped at the wall cases of weapons. "Of all the people on that boat, us."

"We're sorry we had to lie to you and that we ruined your vacation," Danny apologized. "But we're very good judges of character. You are good people, and we like."

"Oh you sweet boys!" Joyce cooed again.

"But we are very sorry to cut your vacation short. It was all the job, please accept our apology and the offer to have a meal with us tonight," Steve added to Danny's statement.

"Don't apologize, Mark and Lisa were sure they weren't going to find the excitement that they wanted on this cruise, and look at all the excitement you've provided in one day. What is the rest of the week going to be like stranded in Oahu?" Joyce asked mockingly. "It was quite the caper at sea, and I'm sure you could regale us with a multitude of your adventures now that you are not under cover."

"But we best leave you to your work, now that we know you've been working this whole time, we don't blame you," Lisa added sympathetically.

"No, no, we have this so under control, I think we deserve to call it a night. We generally keep regular office off. Let's get those drinks, and dinner. I'm starving. We're call in our whole team, including Toast and Charlie, and we'll show you a good time. The Aloha way," Steve said excitedly. "Danny, round up the gang, we've got some celebrating to do." He order.

"All on the Governor, I presume?" Danny asked sarcastically. "Or are you going to chance pissing him off more today?"

"Call it a business expense," Steve winked, "it's the least we can do for interrupting these lovely people and their voyage," Steve said and moved to leave. "Wait, did Danny give you the grand tour of this place? It's kind of a big deal for tourists, mainly for the statue out front but, I mean, we're here," He said excitedly.

"No, not at all, but he was busy," Mark answered.

"Oh, well, follow me then," Steve said and motioned to their guests. "Danny round up the team," he shouted over his shoulder once more. "Call Max too, get him down here to meet our friends. He's our coroner, met the bodies on the big island, so yeah there was a murder on the Pacific Princess, actually three but who's counting?" Steve finished as he turned back to his guest.

"Yeah, we figured that much," Mark said with a laugh. "After the police took the whole boat."

"That was Steve's idea," Danny called after them. "Blame him for the piracy!"

"Don't listen to him," Steve said and steered their guests toward the exit. "He can be bitter."

"You boys are too much," Lisa said with a laughed and they carried on.

"Danny, hurry up!" Steve carried on.

"Yeah, yeah just go all ready and tell them all about the Hale," Danny responded and waved them away as he held his phone to his ear and got down to business.

"So this is the Ali'iolani Hale, it was built between 1871 and 1874 and currently houses Five-O and the state supreme court..." Steve turned on the tour guide and moved with his visitors through the office as he tried to make up for the disruption in his new friends Hawaiian adventure.

 **The End.**


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